;iTY  OFCALIFORWIA 
LOS  ANGELES 


DOCUMENTS 


RELATING   TO   TH3  QUESTION   OF  BOUNDARY 


BRTWEEN 


VENEZUliLA   AND  BRITISH   GUAYANA. 


SUBMITTED  TO  THE  BOUNDARY  COMMISSION 
BY  THE   COUNSEL   OF  THE  GOVERN- 
MENT OF  VENEZUELA. 


m 


Vol.  I. 


Washington,  D.  C. 

Press  of  McGill  &  Wallack, 

1896. 


4 


11     10 


DOCUMENTS 

RELATING   TO   THE   QUESTION   OF    BOUNDARY 
BETWEEN 

VENEZUELA  AND  BRITISH    GUAYANA. 


SUBMITTED   TO  THE  BOUNDARY  COMMISSION 
BY   THE   COUNSEL  OF   THE  GOVERN- 
MENT  OF  VENEZUELA. 


VOL.    I. 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C: 

McGiLL  &  Wallace,   Printers. 
1896. 


AS 


cr> 


[Translation.] 


Case  133. — Drawer  3. — File  16. 
General    Archives    op    the    Indii 
(Seville.) 


1763. 

REPORT  SUBMITTED  BY  DON  JOSE  DIGUJA,  GOV- 
ERNOR OF  CUMANA,  WITH  LETTER  NO.  19, 
DATED  CUMANA,  DECEMBER  15,  1763,  MAKING 
A  LONG  HISTORICAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THESE 
PROVINCES. 


(The   testimony  referred  to  in  this  report  has  been  copied  separately.) 


Cumand,  December  15,  1763. 
Governor  Don  Joseph  Dlguja  calls  attention  to  the  irrepar- 
able injury  which  will  be  done  to  religion,  to  Your  Majesty, 
and  to  the  subjects  of  Your  Majesty  in  these  Provinces,  if 
Guayana  is  transferred  to  Angostura  del  Orinoco.  In  support 
of  his  views  he  appends  to  his  Report  a  vokime  containing  tes- 
timony on  the  subject,  and  makes  a  long  description  of  the 
advantageous  situation  of  Guayana,  etc. 


Cumana,  December  15,  1763. 
Governor  Don  Joseph  Diguja  forwards  a  volume  containing 
testimony  in  support  of  the  Report  and   map  submitted  by 
him  in  consequence  of  the  decision  of  Your  Majesty,  com- 
municated to  him,  to  transfer  the  city  of  Guayana  to  that  place 

XoTE. — This  paper  was  received  on  or  about  September,  1765,  when  Guayana 
had  been  already  transferred  to  Angostura  del  Orinoco,  For  this  reason  no  action 
was  taken  on  the  Report. 


292597 


on  tlie  Orinoco  River  wlicrc  the  .stream  lias  the  less  width. 
He  makes  a  long  cle.scri()tion  of  the  a(lvanta.Li;es  of  the  j)resent 
.situation  of  the  city,  and  explains  the  irreparable  injury  to 
be  sustaineil  l»y  i-eligion,  hy  the  service  of  Your  Majesty,  and 
by  the  subjects  ot  Your  Majesty  in  those  regions,  if  tlie  mov- 
ing of  the  city  to  the  above-named  place  is  accomplished. 


The  Report  begins  by  a  kind  of  Introduction,  in  which  a 
short  statement  of  its  contents  is  made. — Page  1. 

First  Part. 

Cn.vrTEK  ]. — What  the  Government  of  Cumana  was  in 
1720.— Page  4. 

Chapter  II. — Progress  of  that  Government  from  1720  to  the 
present  year,  17C)o. — Page  0. 

CiiArTER  III. — The  |)rogress  made  in  the  Provinces  of  Cu- 
mana and  Barcelona  from  1720  to  the  pi'esent  year,  1703,  is 
due  to  the  two  missionary  bodies,  which  are  evangelizing 
there. — Page  13. 

Note. — Upon  consideration  of  the  Report  made  on  December  15,  17G1,  by  Don 
Josejjh  Solano,  setting  forth  that  the  old  town  (la  Poblacion  Antii/ua)  had  no  more 
than  4,30  inhabitants,  in  which  number  the  garrison  was  included  ;  that  the  walls 
of  the  Asis  Fort  had  notsufficient  strength  ;  that  the  general  conditions  {/»'/»/>/(,•)  of 
the  country  was  bad  ;  that  the  houses  as  well  as  the  church  were  structures  of 
frame  and  mu<l,  and  straw-thatched  ;  that  the  troops  were  liable  at  all  times  to  be 
insulted  ;  that  the  post  called  El  i'adrastro  could  be  lost  as  the  result  of  a  coup  de 
main  of  the  enemy,  and  then  no  possibility  to  retain  jjossession  of  the  province 
would  be  left;  that  in  such  a  case  the  Provinces  of  Cumana,  Caracas,  Barinas, 
and  even  Santa  Fc  would  be  unprotected  ;  that  provisions  were  scarce ;  and 
that  the  well-known  navigation  of  the  Orinoco  facilitated  access  to  the  locality, 
and  requesting  on  all  these  grounds  that  the  city  should  be  moved  and  located  at 
tlie  narrow  part  (la  Angostura)  of  the  river,  Your  Majesty  decided  to  grant  the 
request.  The  proper  orders  and  instructions  to  that  effect  were  sent  in  the  follow- 
ing year,  to  Don  .Joachin  Moreno  de  .Mendoza,  and  Solano  was  directed  to  pass  upon 
any  question  which  might  arise  on  the  subject. 

I'lider  date  of  A  ugust  1 5,  1 7G4,  the  said  Don  .Joachin  Moreno,  commanding  officer 
of  the  city,  reported  that  the  latter  had  been  moved  as  directed,  and  sent  a  state- 
ment of  the  number  of  inhabitants,  and  of  the  e.xpenses  incurred  in  carrying  out  the 
moving.  He  said  that  it  was  impossible  for  the  inhabitants  to  bear  the  expenses  of 
transportation,  building  of  new  houses,  etc.,  and  suggested  that  these  expenses 
shoulil  be  defrayed  by  the  Royal  Treas  ary.  All  of  this  was  granted  by  Royal 
Order  of  the  26th  of  .March  ultimo. 

When  these  papers  were  received  here  from  San  Ildefonso,  in  September,  1765, 
the  map  above  alludeii  to  was  not  among  them.  It  had  been  sent,  however,  but 
as  it  was  of  large  size,  and  had  been  mounted  on  gilded  mouldings  and  rods,  it 
was  hung  on  the  walls  of  the  Secretary's  OflBce,  of  which  it  became  an  ornament. 


Chapter  IV. — Present  state  of  the  Provinces  of  Cumana 
and  Barcelona,  the  principal  ones  of  this  Government;  how 
little  can  be  done  under  existing  circumstances;  and  upon 
whom  the  compliance  with  the  Royal  Order  to  move  Guayana 
depends. — Page  17. 

Chapter  V. — What  the  Province  of  Guayana  was  in  1720, 
and  what  progress  had  been  made  therein  during  the  141  pre- 
vious years. — Page  22. 

Chapter  VI. — Measures  taken  to  fortify  the  Orinoco  from 
the  year  1694  to  the  month  of  ^lay,  17G2,  in  which  it  became 
such  as  it  is  now. — Page  23. 

Chapter  A^II. — Progress  made  in  the  Province  of  Guayana 
from  1720  to  the  present  year,  1763. — Page  35. 

Chapter  VIII. — The  fact  that  the  Dutch  have  not  settled  in 
the  center  of  the  Province  of  Guayana,  and  the  progress  noticed 
at  the  Presidio,  are  due  to  the  Alission  entrusted  to  the  Cata- 
lonian  Capucins.  The  Presidio  can  not  be  kept  without  the 
Mission,  nor  the  Mission  without  the  Presidio. — Page  39. 

Chapter  IX. — Present  condition  of  the  fortifications  of  the 
Presidio  and  city  of  Santo  Thome  de  la  Guayana,  and  of  the 
Spanish  settlements  of  this  Province.  This  condition  is  some- 
what different  from  the  one  existing  at  the  time  of  the  visit. 
Page  46. 

Chapter  X. — The  Presidio  of  Guayana  is  the  most  im- 
portant place  which  the  King,  our  Master,  possesses  in  these 
his  American  dominions,  except  Havana  and  Vera  Cruz. — 
Page  84. 

Second  Part. 

From  page  98,  on  the  reverse,  to  page  196  an  answer  is  given 
to  all  the  chapters  of  the  Royal  Order  individually  referred  to 
on  the  left  side  of  the  jDages. 

.       Third  Part. 

The  Governor  expresses  his  opinion  in  full. — Page  197. 

Chapter  I. — The  Padrastro  Hill  should  be  fortified,  and 
if  agreeable  to  His  Majesty  a  fortress,  to  be  called  La  Concep- 
cion,  should  be  built  thereon,  as  indicated  in  Xos.  7  and  8 
in  the  Map.— Page  198. 


CirAPTKR  IT. — Tliosaid  Padrastro  Hill  should  be  fortified  at 
once,  whether  by  building  the  Concepcion  Castle,  or  by  any 
other  means  which  His  ^Fajesty  might  be  pleased  to  decree. 
This  must  be  done  without  losing  any  time,  otherwise  that 
important  position  may  be  lost  at  the  first  moment  if  a  war 
breaks  out— Page  203. 

Chapter  HI. — The  city  should  be  kept  where  it  is,  and  all 
possible  effort  should  be  made  to  increase,  at  least  twice  as 
much,  the  number  of  its  inhabitants. — Page  211. 

Chapter  IV. —  The  garrison  of  the  Presidio  should  be 
strengthened  Ijy  adding  to  it  73  soldiers,  as  ordered  by  Gov- 
ernor Don  Gregorio  de  Espinosa  and  Governor  Don  Matheo 
Gual,  and  requested  by  me  in  my  memorial  to  His  Majesty  of 
August  27,  1701.— Page  215. 

Chapter  V. — The  Limones  Fort  should  be  abandoned,  and 
a  barge  should  be  kept  at  the  Presidio,  as  Marquis  de  San 
Felipe  suggested  to  His  Majesty.  If  the  narrow  part  (Angos- 
tura) is  to  be  fortified,  no  other  fortification  should  be  erected 
there  than  the  battery  suggested  by  Governor  Don  Juan  de 
la  Tornera,  as  shown  in  No.  0  on  the  Map. — Page  219. 

Chapter  VI. — Assistance  should  be  given  to  the  Missions  of 
Catalonian  Capucins  and  Franciscans  of  Piritu,  as  suggested 
by  me  to  His  Majesty  after  my  visit  to  those  places. — Page  222. 


Report. 

(Parar/raphs  No.  1  to  No.  0  explain  the  subject  and  contents  of  this 
Report,  and  forma  kind  of  SijUabus,  or  Sammary,  of  the  whole 
Document) 

Most  Excellent  Sir : 

Sir  :  Under  date  of  the  4th  of  May  ultimo,  I  informed  Your 
Excellency  that  on  the  25th  of  the  preceding  April  I  had 
received  the  Royal  Orders  enumerated  in  the  List  which  I 
appended  to  my  letter.  I  also  stated  that  as  soon  as  I  could 
get  rid  of  the  occupations  I  mentioned  and  finish  the  prepara- 

NoTE. — The  pflpes  cited  in  the  body  of  the  Report  are  the  pagres  of  the  volume 
which  contains  the  testimony  appended  thereto.  The  pages  of  the  Report  itself 
are  only  mentioned  in  the  preceding  table  of  contents. 


tion  of  the  documents  necessitated  by  some  of  them,  I  would 
answer  to  the  said  Royal  Orders  and  avail  myself  of  the  first 
opportunity  to  mail  my  reply  via  Caracas. 

2.  The  Royal  Order,  issued  at  Aranjuez  on  May  27,  1762, 
contains  different  instructions,  the  most  important  of  which 
refers  to  the  decision  which  His  Majesty  was  pleased  to  make 
in  regard  to  the  city  of  Guayana.  His  Majesty  directed  the 
said  city  to  be  moved  and  transferred  to  a  place  called  La 
Angostura,  34  leagues  above  the  Castle,  where  the  Orinoco  has 
only  a  width  of  800  yards.  But  I,  after  having  given  to  this 
grave  subject,  as  to  all  the  others  of  the  said  Royal  Order, 
the  most  serious  attention,  have  acquired  the  conviction  that 
said  moving  will  be  attended  by  irreparable  injury  to  our 
Hoi}"  Religion,  to  the  service  of  the  two  Majesties,  to  the 
Royal  Treasury,  and  to  the  inhabitants  of  those  countries. 
I  am  fully  aware  of  the  fact  that  insuperable  difficulties  shall 
have  to  be  encountered  in  the  execution  of  the  said  Royal  Order, 
and  that  even  without  counting  these  difficulties,  not  less  than 
25  or  30  years,  and  three  or  four  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
shall  be  necessary  to  carry  the  whole  plan  into  effect,  sacri- 
ficing many  lives,  and  causing  all  these  Provinces  to  be  at  the 
mercy  of  the  enemies  of  the.  Royal  Crown.  I  feel,  therefore, 
that  it  is  my  duty,  as  a  loyal  subject,  and  as  Governor  of  these 
Provinces,  to  take  advantage  of  the  authority  granted  by  Law 
24,  Title  1,  Book  2,  and  request  His  Majesty,  with  all  due 
respect  and  assurances  of  obedience,  to  be  pleased  to  reconsider 
the  subject,  and  direct  the  execution  of  the  said  Royal  Order 
to  be  suspended,  until  His  Majesty,  upon  further  investigation, 
might  be  pleased  to  decide  as  proper. 

3.  In  order  to  convince  His  Majesty  of  the  irreparable 
injury  to  be  done  by  this  measure,  of  the  excessive  expenditure 
which  it  will  entail,  of  the  numerous  difficulties  which  will 
have  to  be  overcome,  of  the  number  of  years  which  will  be  con- 
sumed to  carry  its  provisions  into  practical  effect,  and  of  the 
well-known  dangerous  position  in  which  it  will  place  all  these 
dominions  of  His  Majesty,  I  thought  it  advisable  to  submit  to 
His  Majesty  the  Map  and  testimony  which  I  append  to  this 
Report.    The  one  and  the  other,  together  with  the  general  map 


8 

of  this  rjovcrnment,  and  tlio  memoranda  book,  or  Book  of  notes, 
whicli  t'ontains  the  particuhirly  accurate  as  well  as  concise 
descriptiuii  dt'  the  counti-v,  wliidi  1  formerly  suhinitted  to  His 
Majesty,  tiirou,i;h  tiie  hands  i)f  Your  Excellency,  on  Sei)tember 
16,  17G1,  will  vouch  a  great  portion  of  what  I  have  said  in 
this  Report.  If  some  other  points  of  the  same  document  have 
not  been  accompanied  by  comiietent  proof,  it  has  not  been 
because  that  proof  was  lacking,  but  because  of  the  desire  not 
to  give  this  Report  undue  extension.  Records  too  voluminous, 
instead  of  bt'ing  conducive  to  throw  light  on  a  subject,  are  apt 
to  produce  confusion.  But  whenever  His  Majesty  may  be 
pleased  to  order  me  to  prove  any  statement,  which  is  not 
vouched  here,  I  will  do  it.  I  bind  myself  to  give  such  proofs 
and  I  hold  myself  responsible  for  the  truth  of  all  that  I  have 
said  in  this  Report,  which  [  have  prepared  in  discharge  of  my 
duty,  in  order  to  correspond  to  the  confidence  that  His  Majesty 
was  pleased  to  repose  in  me,  and  with  no  other  desire  than  to 
improve  the  Royal  service,  protect  these  vast  dominions,  and 
prevent  the  charge  from  being  justly  made  against  me,  that  I 
did  not  call  attention  to  facts  and  dangers  which  could  be  seen 
so  easily. 

4.  And  in  order  that  my  representations  may  be  more  easily 
understood,  and  that  no  confusion  may  be  created,  I  have 
thought  it  proper  to  divide  this  report  into  three  parts,  show^- 
ing  in  the  lirst,  what  the  (lovernment  of  Cumana  was  in  1720  : 
what  progress  has  Ijcen  made  in  it  up  to  the  i)resent  date  ;  to 
whom  said  progress  is  due  ;  what  its  condition  is  at  the  present 
time :  how  little,  under  the  circumstances  now  existing  in 
it,  can  be  undertaken  in  the  Province  of  Guayana;  what 
the  Province  of  Guayana  was  in  1720  when  it  was  subject  to 
the  Government  of  La  Trinidad,  and  what  progress  had  been 
made  in  it  during  the  141  previous  years;  what  measures  for 
the  fortification  of  the  Orinoco  were  taken  from  the  year  1694 
up  to  the  27th  of  May,  1762,  after  which  date  nothing  has  been 
done  ;  what  was  the  unhappy  condition  in  which  said  Province 
found  itself  when  it  was  amiexed  to  this  Government ;  what  pro- 
gress it  has  made  ever  since,  and  to  whom  that  progress  has  been 
due ;  what  is  the  present  condition  of  the  city  of  Guayana  and  its 


9 

fortifications;  and  how  said  city  is  the  most  important  phice 
which  the  King-  has  in  these  his  American  dominions,  except 
Havana  and  Vera  Cruz.  With  this  precise  and  well  proved 
information  furnished  at  the  outset,  everything  stated  in  the 
second  and  third  parts  of  the  Report  will  be  properly  substan- 
tiated, and  the  danger  will  be  thus  avoided  of  entering  into 
long  digressions,  wdiich,  rather  than  throwing  upon  the  subject 
the  light  which  I  desire  and  facilitating  the  work  of  His 
Majesty,  may,  on  the  contrary,  produce  confusion. 

5.  In  the  second  part  reference  is  made,  on  the  left  side  of 
the  respective  pages,  to  the  items  or  statements  contained  in 
the  Royal  Order,  and  an  answer  is  given  to  each  one  in  the 
text.  These  answ^ers  show  how  irreparable  the  injury  sus- 
tained will  be;  how  large  amount  of  money  and  how  many 
long  years  shall  be  required  to  carry  the  said  Royal  Order 
into  effect ;  and  how  much  the  execution  thereof,  so  far  from 
being  conducive  to  the  safety  and  development  of  these 
Provinces,  will  endanger  the  possession  of  the  same,  and 
render  them  liable  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  enemies,  to  the 
detriment  of  the  religion  newly  implanted  in  a  great  portion 
of  their  territory. 

6.  In  the  third  part  my  opinion  is  stated  in  full.  This  is 
the  first  time,  since  I  have  had  the  honor  to  serve  His  Majesty 
in  this  position,  that  I  have  ventured  to  express  my  own  ideas, 
unless  directed  by  express  Royal  Order  to  do  so.  But  as  the 
interests  of  the  service  of  the  two  Majesties  appear  to  be  so  much 
at  stake  in  this  grave  matter,  I  have  felt  myself  bound  by  a 
duty  of  conscience  to  set  forth  what  I  think  to  be  conducive 
to  the  service  of  God  and  of  the  King.  In  this  matter,  indeed, 
I  have  had  very  little  to  add  to  what  was  said  in  the  Book  of 
Notes,  or  the  part  thereof  relating  to  information  both  general 
and  special  about  this  Government,  and  still  less  to  Avhat  was  so 
properly  represented  to  His  Majesty  by  the  engineers  and  the 
governors  who  preceded  me,  and  were  entrusted  by  Roya 
command  with  the  work  of  fortifying  the  Orinoco,  whose 
reports  were  approved,  by  virtue  of  a  Royal  Order,  by  His 
Excellency  Don  Sebastian  de  Eslava,  Viceroy  at  that  time  of 
the  New  Kingdom  of  New  Grenada. 


10 


First  Part. 

(  hapn-r  1. 

11 '/((//  the  Govcrnmoii  of  CitiiKiua  luas  in  1720. 

1st.  Tlic  rjovoriimont  of  CiiinaiKi,  at  whoso  head  was  placed 
|)(Hi  .losojth  Carrono  in  17'2(),  consisted  of  the  Provinee  of  that 
iiaiur  ;iih1  the  I'l-ovinee  ol"  liareelona.  A  lar<>;e  ])()rtion  of 
the  territory  north  of  the  chain  of  nionntains  which  runs  from 
east  to  west  across  the  two  jn'ovinces  was  unknown  and  unex- 
plored. The  other  tract  of  land  situated  on  the  south  of  these 
mountains  was  possessed  and  inhabited  by  the  Caribbean  In- 
dians, by  other  Indians  not  yet  pacified,  and  by  those  Dutch, 
English,  and  French  people,  who  were  in  their  company. 

The  towns  of  the  Province  of  (Annana  were  as  follows:  Its 
capital,  with  no  more  than  one  hundred  very  small  houses, 
built  of  mud  and  timber,  and  thatched  roofed.  The  inhabit- 
ants of  this  town  were  very  poor,  although  some  of  them 
owned  small  farms  on  the  coast  of  the  <  Julf,  or  in  the  Cariaco 
valley. 

2.  The  city  of  San  Balthasar  de  los  Arias,  otherwise  called 
Cumanacoa,  consisting  of  twenty  or  twenty-five  thatched-roofed, 
mud  houses,  inhabited  by  poor  farm  laborers,  most  of  them 
mulattoes,  half-breeds  and  negroes.  The  principal  production 
was  tobacco,  but  only  to  the  amount  necessary  for  consumption 
within  the  Province. 

:').  The  city  of  San  Phelii)e  de  Austria,  or  Cariaco,  where  tlie 
cultivation  of  cacao  had  been  started  in  some  small  farms  be- 
longing to  people  of  Cumana,  who  u.sed  to  come  and  reside 
there  temporarily.  The  real  inhabitants  of  this  city  were 
negroes,  mulattoes  and  half-breeds,  who  lived  in  about  thirty 
thatched-roofed  cabins,  scattered  here  and  there  on  the  grounds 
where  they  cultivated  their  corn,  manioc,  bananas  and  fruits 
•of  various  kinds.  These  were  the  only  three  towns,  or  settle- 
ments of  Spaniards,  in  that  locality. 

4.  On  the  north  of  the  Mountains,  as  shown  by  the  General 
Map,  some  eighteen  or  twenty  Indian  villages  had  been  already 


11 

-established.  Five  of  these  settlements  were  taken  care  of  by 
secular  priests;  the  balance  were  in  charge  of  the  Aragonese 
•Capucins.  The  inhabitants  of  the  villages  entrusted  to  secular 
priests  and  some  other  towns  entrusted  to  the  Friars  aforesaid, 
had  been  taught  the  Christian  doctrine.  All  the  rest  were 
'Under  missionary  rule  and  not  yet  well  educated.  Some 
niissions  and  settlements  began  also  to  be  established  on  the 
top  and  the  southern  slope  of  the  mountains. 

5.  These  new  Missions,  and  even  the  old  ones  near  Cumana- 
■coa,  were  frequently  insulted  by  the  Caribbean  Indians  and  the 
French  and  English  people  wlio  accompanied  them.  Owing  to 
their  having  destroyed  by  fire  the  town  of  San  Felix  de  la  Peni- 
tencia  (see  General  Map)  and  their  having  perpetrated  some 
other  outrages  at  Aragua,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  said  town, 
Governor  Carreiio  saw  himself  compelled  to  enlist  soldiers  and 
send  an  expedition  to  the  Guarapiche  River,  for  the  purpose  of 
punishing  them.  So  it  was  done,  as  appears  from  the  report 
sent  by  that  Governor  to  His  Majesty,  on  March  30,  1719,  and 
from  a  Royal  Ordinance,  dated  Madrid,  March  6,  1721,  ap- 
proving what  had  been  done.  All  of  this  is  shown  by  the 
testimony  hereto  appended,  page  4,  on  the  back,  and  the  follow- 
ing up  to  page  6. 

6.  In  the  Province  of  Barcelona  no  other  tow^i  existed  than 
its  capital,  which  consisted  of  between  80  and  100  frame  and 
mud,  thatched-roofed  houses,  inhabited  by  people  who  were 
still  poorer  than  those  of  Cumana,  because  they  had  to  confine 
themselves  to  cultivate  the  most  sterile  lands  on  the  coast  and 
the  mountains,  and  were  unable  to  undertake  any  work  in 
the  fertile  plains  of  the  interior  for  fear  of  constant  molesta- 
tion by  the  Caribbean  Indians. 

7.  The  Franciscan  friars  {ohservantes)  of  Piritu  had  in  their 
charge  fourteen  or  fifteen  Indian  villages,  whose  inhabitants  had 
been  kept  under  missionary  rule  until  the  date  in  which  Don 
Joseph  Carreno  raised  them  to  the  rank  of  already  instructed 
'{puestos  en  dodrina).  The  land  occupied  by  the  pacified  In- 
dians was  situated  on  the  chain  of  mountains  which  faces  the 
north,  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Unare  River,  extending  as  far 
as  the  locality  in  which  the  Huere  River  empties  into  the 


12 

Unarc.  Tlit'sc  towns  wore  often  att;u-ke(l  ])y  the  Caril»bejui 
Indians,  assisted  by  some  Dutch  and  Kn<;lish  j)eoj)le,  who,  in 
company  uiili  tiic  said  liiihans,  made  incursions  in  tlic  unex- 
plored territory  of  the  Province  of  Barcelona,  and  in  a  portion 
of  that  of  the  Province  of  Caracas,  reaching,  through  the  Ori- 
noco, the  other  Provinces  access  to  which  can  be  facilitated 
through  navigation  on  that  river. 

To  this  and  nothing  else  the  Government  of  Cumami  was 
reduced  in  the  above  cited  year  seven  hundred  and  twenty,  in 
which  Don  Joseph  Carreiio  ceased  to  be  Governor,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Don  Juan  de  la  Tornera  Sota,  who  continued  in 
the  same  Avay  as  his  predecessor  to  take  measures  to  preserve 
the  Missions  and  re})ress  the  Caribbean  Indians  and  their 
English,  Dutch  and  French  companions  who  harassed  them. 


Chapter  II. 

Progress  made  in  the  Government  from  1720  to  tlie  present  year,. 

1763. 
1.  In  order  to  explore  the  unknown  portion  of  the  territory 
of  the  Province  of  Barcelona,  and  to  {)ursue  the  Caribbean 
Imlians  and  the  foreigners  who  accompanied  them,  some 
movements  towards  the  interior  were  started  by  the  Mission- 
aries and  the  small  force  which  Governor  Tornera  could 
give  them  as  escort.  The  result  of  those  expeditions  was 
the  exploration  of  the  l)anks  of  the  Orinoco  and  the 
Carey  llivers,  and  the  foundation  of  the  San  Buenaventura 
Mission,  called  also  La  Margarita,  where  many  Indians  who  had 
been  persuaded  to  leave  the  mountains  were  gathered.  Some 
other  Indians,  in  larger  numbers  than  the  above,  wer(*also  in- 
duced to  come  and  settle  in  the  proposed  Missions  of  Santa  Rosa 
and  San  Joachin.  (See  the  general  map  as  to  the  location  of 
these  places.)  All  of  this  was  reported  to  His  Majesty,  under 
date  of  January  8, 1724,  by  Governor  Tornera,  who  urged  also, 
as  a  matter  of  great  importance  for  the  Iloyal  service,  the  forti- 
fication of  the  narrow  })art  (La  Anr/ostnra)  of  the  Orinoco  River,, 
and  the  foundation  of  some  Missions  in  its  neighborhood.    Said. 


13 

Missions  were  to  be  in  charge  of  the  Franciscan  Fathers,  to  whom, 
in  compliance  with  the  repeated  provisions  of  several  Koyal 
•orders,  the  proper  escort  should  be  given.  As  up  to  that  time 
no  escort  had  ever  been  paid  anything,  owing  to  which  fact,  as  it 
appears  from  pa^e  6  to  page  9  of  the  testimony,  the  Missions  had 
suffered  considerably,  efficient  measures  were  suggested  to 
secure  actual  payment  in  the  present  case.  To  this  His  Majesty 
graciousl}^  answered,  through  his  Secretary  of  State,  Don 
Joseph  Patiilo,  in  a  communication  dated  at  Madrid,  September 
7,  1728,  by  informing  the  Governor  that  the  proper  orders  had 
been  issued  for  the  fortification  of  La  Angostura,  as  decided 
by  His  Majesty  at  some  previous  time.  The  text  of  the  said 
Royal  Order  is  to  be  found  in  the  testimony  hereto  appended, 
from  page  9  to  page  10. 

Another  Royal  Order,  issued  at  Madrid,  on  the  same  date, 
transmitted  by  the  same  Secretary  Don  Joseph  Patirio,  which  can 
be  found  in  the  same  testimony  from  page  10  to  page  11,  shows 
that  Governor  Tornera  had  reported  to  His  Majesty  in  Novem- 
ber, 1727,  the  number  of  Indians  who,  with  the  assistance  given 
him  for  that  purpose  during  his  term  of  office,  had  been  sub- 
dued {reducidos)  and  caused  to  live  in  villages  or  other  settle- 
ments of  permanent  character.  It  shows  also  that  the  Caribbean 
Indians  and  other  savage  tribes  had  waged  war  against  those 
settlements  and  attempted  to  kill  the  missionaries  and  the 
Spaniards  who  were  with  them  ;  that  the  banks  of  the  Huere 
River  (see  general  map  for  the  location  of  this  river)  had  been 
properly  defended;  that  in  these  skirmishes  many  Indians 
had  been  killed,  and  some  others  made  prisoners  ;  that  close 
to  the  banks  of  the  said  river  about  eleven  houses  had  been 
discovered  which  were  intended,  as  it  seemed,  for  storage  pur- 
poses, wliere  many  fire  arms,  and  arms  of  other  kinds,  clubs, 
and  arrows  were  found  and  captured  ;  that  the  hostile  Indians 
had  been  assisted  in  their  effort  to  establish  themselves  in  their 
old  homes  by  English  officers  and  soldiers ;  and  that  His 
Majesty  had  imparted  his  approval  to  all  that  had  been  done, 
by  the  Governor,  in  regard  to  this  subject. 

2.  The  same  system  of  government,  with  little  or  no  changes, 
and  no  greater  improvement  of  the  situation,  prevailed  during 


14 

tlie  whole  period  of  (Governor  Torneni's  command.  In  August 
1733,  he  was  replaced  by  Don  Carlos  de  Sucre.  (Jovernor 
Toriiera,  however,  had  received  the  nistruetions  of  October,. 
17"J<>,  which  ap})ear  from  page  11  to  page  10  of  the  testimony, 
and  had  been  entrusted  with  the  Government  pf  these  posses- 
sions, as  shown  by  the  same  testimony,  for  the  especial  purpose,, 
as  shall  be  more  particularly  explained  in  its  proper  place, 
that  he  should  fortify  the  narrow  part  {la  Angostura)  of  the 
Orinoco  Kiver,  or  Island  of  Faxardo. 

3.  In  order  to  com[»ly  with  the  <luty  entrusted  to  him.  Gov- 
ernor .Sucre  moved  to  the  Presidio  of  Guayana,  on  or  about  the 
month  of  February,  1734,  and  remained  there  during  the 
longest  period  of  his  term  of  office.  Noth withstanding  this- 
fact,  and  although  the  Governor  before  leaving  the  capital 
had  appointed  the  Marquis  of  San  Felipe  to  act  in  his  place 
in  everything  concerning  the  government  of  these  Provinces^ 
a  large  amount  of  business  was  often  submitted  to  his  personal 
consideration.  The  communication  with  Guayana  was  at  that 
time  difficult.  By  sea  the  trip  was  very  expensive  and  long^ 
as  it  was  necessary  to  go  first  to  the  Island  of  La  Margarita, 
for  which  place  alone  pilots  were  obtainable  to  proceed  to 
the  Island  of  La  Trinidad,  and  there  engage  another  pilot, 
generally  an  Indian,  expert  in  the  navigation  of  the  Orinoco, 
to  take  the  vessel  from  one  mouth  of  that  river  to  the  city 
of  (iuayana.  By  land  it  was  still  worse,  because  there  was 
no  road  which  would  lead  to  tliat  place. 

The  missionaries  of  Piritu,  in  their  excursions  through  the 
territory  of  the  Province  of  Barcelona,  had  gone  no  farther 
than  the  banks  of  the  River  Cari,  which,  being  very  wide  and 
carrying  a  large  volume  of  water  before  emptying  into  the 
Orinoco,  was  found  by  them  to  be  impassable,  unless  by 
using  some  craft,  which  they  had  not  in  their  possession. 
Nevertheless,  under  the  sjuir  of  necessity,  with  great  efforts, 
after  crossing  the  summit  of  the  Guanipa  Table,  where  the 
Morichales,  forming  the  sources  of  the  River  Cari,  are  found 
(see  General  Map,  and  Note  No.  5  of  the  Book  of  Notes,  as  to 
explanation  i»f  wliat  the  Guanipa  Table  and   the  Morichales 


15 

are),  and  fording  some  other  rivers,  a  road  was  discovered 
which  leads  to  a  locality  just  opposite  El  Presidio.  Tiiis  is- 
the  only  way  of  communication  by  land  now  used,  and  is 
marked  in  the  map  hereto  annexed. 

4.  As  soon  as  this  road  was  discovered  tlie  missionaries- 
applied  themselves  to  improve  it  as  much  as  possible,  and  to 
secure  the  establishment,  at  some  convenient  point  of  its 
traject,  of  a  town  or  some  other  station,  where  the  people  could 
get  provisions  and  rest  from  the  fatigues  of  a  six  days'  journey 
through  the  sands  of  the  desoUite  Guanipa  Table ;  and  to  this 
end  they  founded,  in  1735,  with  Indians  belonging  to  the 
Guarauna  nation,  who  inhabited  the  shores  of  the  Del  Manso 
Lake,  as  shown  by  the  appended  map,  a  Mission  to  which  they 
gave  the  name  of  Nuestra  Sefiora  de  los  Remedios  (Our  Lady  of 
Remedies).  This  undertaking,  however,  soon  proved  to  be  a 
failure,  because  the  Caribbean  Indians  becoming  infuriated  at 
the  Guarauna  people  having  consented  to  be  subjected  to 
missionary  rule,  made,  at  the  end  of  that  year,  and  with  the 
assistance  of  a  certain  number  of  French  allies,  an  attack 
upon  said  Mission,  which  ended  in  its  ruin.  They  suddenly 
rushed  into  it,  at  the  very  moment  in  which  the  priest  was 
saying  mass,  and  after  assaulting  and  wounding  him,  while 
at  the  altar,  dragged  him  out  of  the  church,  hanged  him 
from  a  tree,  and  ignominiously  outraged  his  corpse.  They 
killed  37  Guaraunas,  burnt  down  the  church  and  the  houses, 
and  carried  away  with  them  the  women  and  the  children. 

5.  In  spite  of  these  and  other  similar  misfortunes,  the  mis- 
sionaries continued  with  not  less  earnestness  the  work  of  civihz- 
ing  the  unhappy  inhabitants  of  those  territories.  These  efforts, 
as  well  as  the  increase  of  trade  in  that  region  in  consequence 
of  the  events  in  Guayana ;  the  steps  taken  by  Sucre  in  the 
Presidio  to  prevent  the  introduction  of  foreigners  allied  to  the 
Caribbean  Indians,  and  the  action  of  Marquis  San  Felipe  in 
the  Province  of  Barcelona,  as  shown  by  the  Royal  Letter  dated 
at  Aranjuez,  April  28,  1737,  and  copied  from  page  19  to  page 
20  of  the  testimony,  tended  to  facilitate  the  pacification  of  the 
Caribbean  Indians,  which  was  then  initiated  and  which,  dur- 


IG 

ing  the  whole  period  of  Sucre's  administration,  was  continued 
with  such  a  dcfj^roe  of  success  as  to  allow  the  inhabitants  of 
Barcelona  to  estnhlisli  stock  farms  in  these  territoricss,  although 
occasionally  sonic  harm  was  done  both  to  the  cattle  and  to  the 
peoi)lc  who  had  it  undi'r  their  care. 

().  While  this  was  li;i])|iciiiiig  in  Ihe  Province  of  liarcelona, 
nuitters  were  i)rogrcssing  very  slowly  in  that  of  Cuniana  and 
in  the  region  to  the  south  of  its  nnninlains.  The  Aragonese 
Capucins  had  establisheil  in  the  latter  region  some  of  the  Mis- 
sions which  are  now  in  existence;  and  on  the  northern  part, 
on  the  coast,  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cape  Tres  Puntas  (as 
shown  by  the  General  Map),  two  Spanish  towns  had  been 
founded,  wliich  were  respectively  designate<l  under  the  names 
of  Kios  Caribes  and  Caru])ano,  and  became  afterw^ards  very 
useful  for  the  pacification  of  the  coast  of  Paria. 

7.  Such  was  the  condition  of  things  in  the  Provinces  of 
Cumana  and  Jiarcelona  in  1740,  when  on  or  about  the  month 
of  June  of  the  same  year,  Governor  Don  Carlos  de  Sucre  was 
recalled  and  I'eplaced  by  Don  Gregorio  de  Espinosa,  who 
had  also  been  instructed,  as  will  be  explaine(l  hereafter,  to 
fortify  the  Orinoco.  AVhat  took  place  in  these  Provinces 
during  his  government  will  be  presently  stated. 

8.  Siiortly  after  his  arrival  an<l  his  taking  possession  of  the 
Government,  Guayana  was  attacked  by  an  English  privateer. 
The  (Jovernor  at  once  sent  a  force  there  of  one  hundred  men  of 
tlie  militia  of  Barcelona,  but  when  they  reached  their  destina- 
tion the  Presidio  had  been  already  sacked.  The  same  fate  had 
befallen  the  neighboring  Indian  towns  or  villages,  the  houses  of 
wliich,  as  well  as  those  of  the  city,  had  been  burnt  to  the  ground. 
l>ut  if  the  one  ]inndi\'d  men  of  the  expedition  had  been 
unable  to  i)revent,  on  account  of  their  late  arrival,  the  afore- 
said misfortune  from  having  hapi)ened,  their  presence  there 
was  however  useful  foi-  tlie  pacification  of  certain  ti'ibes,  sub- 
ject to  missionary  rule,  wiio  had  revolted  and  run  away  to  the 
mountains.  This  service  having  been  rendered,  the  detach- 
ment returned  to  P)arcelona,  not  without,  causing  the  Carib- 
bean Indians,  who  inhabit  the  territory  through  which  it 
passed,  both   when  going  to   Guayana   and    when  returning 


17 

home,  to  feel  apprehensive  that  the  missionaries,  counting 
with  its  assistance,  would  endeavor  to  subdue  and  civilize 
them,  as  in  fact  they  did  afterwards. 

9.  In  order  to  insure  the  safety  of  the  road  to  Guayana  and 
the  Curacies  and  new  Missions  on  the  mountains,  as  well  as 
that  of  the  part  of  the  plains  of  Barcelona  where  cattle  ranches 
had  been  established,  the  Franciscan  missionaries  founded,  in 
1744,  the  town  of  Aragna,  situated  on  the  plains,  at  twenty 
leagues  from  Barcelona,  leaving  between  this  city  and  the 
newly  founded  town  several  Indian  villages  and  some  cattle 
ranches.  The  population  of  this  new  town  consisted  of  mu- 
iattoes,  half-breeds,  negroes,  and  here  and  there  a  white  man, 
all  of  wliom,  numbering  at  most  twenty  families,  had  pre- 
viously established  themselves,  with  their  cattle,  in  the  plains 
near  the  mountains,  and  in  other  plains  of  the  Province  of 
Caracas.  Before  this  new  town  could  be  raised  to  the  rank  of 
a  Parish  it  was  placed  for  church  matters  under  the  rule  of 
a  Missionary. 

10.  After  the  foundation  of  this  town,  and  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  same  year,  1744,  another  settlement  was  started  by  the 
same  missionaries  at  the  place  called  Pao,  twenty  leagues  from 
Aragua,  and  thirty-five  or  forty  from  the  city  of  Barcelona, 
and  the  communication  and  trade  with  Guayana  was  thereby 
rendered  safer.  Some  cattle  raisers,  who  had  started  their 
farms  in  the  plains  of  Caracas,  were  assisted  by  the  people  of 
Aragua  to  move  with  their  cattle  to  the  new  settlement ;  and 
so,  with  no  more  than  sixteen  or  eighteen  families,  the  town  of 
Nuestra  Senora  de  la  Co7icepci6n  del  Pao,  which  is  still  standing, 
was  brought  into  existence.  That  town,  which  is  now  about 
to  be  raised  to  the  rank  of  a  Parish,  was  placed,  as  it  is  now, 
under  the  care  of  the  same  missionaries. 

The  two  towns  (Pao  and  Aragua)  increased  their  population 
considerably  on  account  of  the  disturbances  which  occurred 
in  the  Province  of  Caracas,  when  the  uprising  of  Leon,  in  '49 
and  '50,  took  place.  Both  of  them  are  very  important  to  give 
safety  to  the  plains  whereon  they  are  situated,  as  they  afford 
efficient  means  to  resist  any  invasion  on  the  part  of  the  Carib- 
bean Indians,  who,  as  shown  by  the  General  Map  and  by  Note 

Vol.  1,  Ven.— 2 


18 

G  of  tlie  Book  of  Notes,  inlial)it  the  count  ly  Ix-tweeii  the  same 
towns  and  tlie  banks  of  the  Orinoco. 

11.  In  174(5  Don  Gregorio  de  Es})in()sa  was  recalled,  and 
Don  Diego  Tavares  was  appointed  in  his  phice.  The  latter 
came  also  with  special  instructions  to  fortify  tlie  Orinoco. 

Tavares  was  in  liisturn  recalled  in  '')'.],  and  replaced  by  Don 
Matheo  Gual. 

Glial  was  succeeded  ad  interim,  in  December,  '57,  by  Don 
Nicolas  de  Castro;  and  Castro  transmitted  to  me  the  command 
in  .January,  '59. 

]■_*.  All  my  predecessors,  from  Don  Gregorio  de  Espinosa 
down, were  i>articular  in  taking  measures  to  insure  the  safety  and 
proper  development  of  these  Provinces.  As  for  myself,  J  can 
say  that  the  steps  I  have  taken,  after  my  general  visit,  specially 
for  the  good  government  and  the  proper  treatment  of  the  In- 
dians, have  not  been  few.  To  remedy  the  evil  effects  of  intox- 
ication in  the  Caribbean  Missions  on  the  banks  of  the  Orinoco, 
I  gave  the  local  authorities  of  Barcelona,  Aragua,  Pao,  and 
Guayana  such  instructions  as  were  deemed  necessary  to  secure 
their  a})pearance  in  the  resjiective  places  of  their  territory,  as 
soon  as  some  disturbance  occurred.  I  also  made  arrangements 
by  virtue  of  which  the  said  local  authorities,  and  all  other 
officials  of  the  (rovernment,  were  enabled  to  assist  each  other 
whenever  necessarw  All  of  this  will  a[i[)ear  from  the  ela])or- 
ate  statement  of  the  General  Kesults  of  my  \lsit,  submitted  by 
me  to  His  Majesty  through  his  Royal  and  Supreme  Council  of 
the  Indies.  The  fact  is,  that  owing  to  these  measures  taken  by 
myself,  and  to  those  which  my  predecessors  had  taken  during 
their  respective  terms  of  office,  communication  can  now  be  had 
without  risk  between  all  i)laces  of  the  territor}',  whether  on  the 
plains  or  in  the  mountains,  belonging  to  the  Provinces  under 
my  c(jmmand.  Any  man  can  now  go  alone  to  Guayana,  and 
come  back,  without  fear  of  molestation  of  any  kind.  Twenty 
years  ago  no  man  could  tliink  of  making  such  a  journey  with- 
out a  strong  escort.  N(j  foreigner,  allied  to  the  Caribbean  In- 
dians, is  now  seen  in  the  country ;  nor  can  any  Caribbean  Indian 
himself  be  seen  outside  the  towns.  The  same  safety  is  to 
l)e  noticed    in  the  communication  bv  water.     The  navi<ration 


19 

along  the  sea  coast,  through  Golfo  Triste,  the  mouths  of  the 
Orinoco,  and  up  the  river,  is  freely  made,  and  those  engaged 
in  this  business  can  go  and  come  without  disturbance.  There  are 
excellent  pilots,  perfectly  well  acquainted  with  every  locality 
in  the  whole  Northern  Coast,  the  Guarapiche  River,  the  Chan- 
nels of  Santa  Isabel,  Teresen,  and  Coiguar,  the  coast  of  Paria, 
and  the  Labyrinth  of  the  mouths  of  the  Orinoco. 

13.  At  the  time  of  my  visit  there  were  in  the  Province  of 
Barcelona  121  ranches,  which,  according  to  the  statements  of 
their  owners,  contained  from  fifty  to  fifty-five  thousand  head 
of  cattle.  This  secured  for  the  Province  a  revenue  of  25 
or  30  dollars  per  year,  as  shown  in  note  No.  13  of  the 
Book  of  Notes.  The  number  of  ranches  is  becoming  every  day 
larger  and  larger;  and  this  fact,  the  abundance  of  cattle,  and 
the  increase  of  the  number  of  Indians  who  become  civil- 
ized and  devote  themselves  to  the  cultivation  of  the  lands, 
have  rendered  the  capital  of  Barcelona  four  times  better  and 
more  advanced  in  every  respect  than  it  was  in  1720.  Now,  as 
far  as  the  comfort  of  the  inhabitants  is  concerned,  the  said 
capital  is  the  best  city  in  this  Government. 

14.  The  same  increase  in  the  number  of  houses,  population, 
and  wealth  of  the  inhabitants  wdiich  has  been  noticed  in  the 
capital  of  Barcelona,  has  also  been  noticed  in  the  capital  of 
Cumana  and  in  all  other  cities  and  towns  of  this  Government. 
Nothing,  of  any  account,  was  received  in  the  Royal  Treasury 
in  the  year  1720;  because  the  number  of  Indians  who  paid 
tribute  was  very  small,  and  because  the  revenue  derived  from 
the  payment  of  tithes  was  of  little  importance.  The  receipts 
coming  from  what  was  called  "  entradas  y  salidas,''  was,  if  pos- 
sible, still  more  insignificant,  because  the  production  was  small 
and  the  trade  almost  null.  The  result  was  that  at  that  time 
the  Royal  Treasury  was  scarcely  able  to  meet  the  few  obliga- 
tions which  weighed  upon  it.  But  at  present,  as  shown  by 
note  No.  11  of  the  Book  of  Notes,  a  most  favorable  change  can 
be  noticed  in  the  Government's  receipts  and  expenditures.  It 
may  be  said,  in  a  word,  that  the  difference  between  the  situ- 
ation of  the  Treasury  now  and  in  1720  is  just  as  striking  as 
between  being  and  not  being.     This  increase  in  the  resources 


20 

of  tlie  (lovcniinciit,  no  matter  huw  great,  can  nut,  liowH'vei', 
justify  the  undertaking  of  many  enterprises,  and  this  J  will 
explain,  as  thoroughly  as  it  is  indispensable  to  give  a  proper 
answer  to  the  chapter  of  the  Royal  Ordinance  which  relates  to 
the  moving  of  La  Guayana  to  La  Angostura.  This  I  shall  do 
when  stating  the  })rincii)al  reason  which  produced  that  in- 
crease. That  part  of  my  Re}Kjrt  wherein  I  suggest  certain 
measures  and  recommend  them  as  efficient  will  then  also  be 
substantiated. 


riiaptei-  Til. 

TJie  progrcfis  made  in  tlic  Provinces  of  Ciimand  and  Barcelona, 
from  1720  to  the  present  year  1763,  is  due  to  the  tiro  Mission- 
ary bodies  engaged  in  their  evangelization. 

1.  It  can  not  be  doubted  that  the  repeated  measures,  more 
or  less  active,  taken  by  my  predecessors,  have  caused  the  very 
noticeable  develo})ment  of  the  cities  and  towns  of  this  Govern- 
ment;  the  exi)loration  of  tlie  vast  territories  whicli  pertain  to 
it;  the  pacification  of  tlie  Indians  who  inhal»ited  its  mountains 
and  forests,  and  are  now  reduced  to  live  in  proper  settle- 
ments the  life  <>f  civilization  ;  the  expulsion  of  those  foreigners 
who,  in  union  with  the  Indians,  overran  these  Provinces  and 
harrassed  their  inhabitants  with  the  intent  of  establishing 
themselves  in  their  territory  ;  the  discover}'^,  safety  and  good 
arrangements  of  the  road  to  Guayana,  which  facilitates  the 
connnunication  with  that  })lace ;  and,  as  a  consequence  of  all 
these  facts,  the  occui)ation  and  settlement  of  these  hitherto  un- 
explored Pi'ovinces  and  vast  territories  by  Spanish  })eople, 
who  fonnt'rly  had  been  compelled  to  live  in  the  arid  and  bar- 
ren lands  which  lie  in  close  vicinity  with  the  estal>lishments 
on  the  coast.  None  of  these  measures,  however,  would  have 
amounted  to  anything,  if  their  execution  had  not  been  secured 
and  fostered  as  it  was  by  the  missionary  bodies,  engaged  in 
the  evangelization  of  the  Provinces  of  Cumana  and  Barcelona, 
namely :  The  Aragonese  Capucins  in  Cumand,  as  explained 


21 

in  Note  No.  4,  and  the  Franciscans  of  Piritu  in  Barcelona, 
as  explained  in  Notes  No.  7  and  No.  10.  Tlie  territory  in 
which  their  missionary  work  is  done  is  marked  in  the  General 
Map. 

2.  These  two  bodies  of  missionaries  have  always  been  lack- 
ing the  proper  assistance.  The  number  of  missionaries  has 
never  been  sufficient.  They  have  not  received  enough  alms 
for  their  proper  support.  They  have  not  been  given  adequate 
escort  to  insure  their  safety,  protect  the  new  settlements,  and 
explore  the  neighboring  forests  in  search  of  Indians  to  be 
evangelized.  They  do  not  possess  such  ecclesiastical  vestments, 
images,  bells,  etc.,  as  are  desired.  The  missionaries  themselves, 
as  well  as  the  Governor,  have  most  repeatedly  set  forth  their 
needs,  and  requested  His  Majesty  to  grant  proper  assistance  to 
this  important  branch  of  the  service.  His  Majesty  most 
graciously,  as  becoming  to  his  Royal  and  Catholic  zeal,  has 
attended  to  this  matter  by  issuing  proper  Ordinances  and 
taking  other  measures,  all  of  them  tending  to  the  spiritual 
and  temporal  welfare  of  the  poor  Indians.  But  most  of 
these  Royal  Ordinances  and  decrees  have  become  of  no 
effect,  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  funds,  out  of  which  the 
expenses  required  to  carry  them  into  operation  had  to  be 
paid.  Lately,  when  reporting  the  results  of  my  general 
visit,  I  called  His  Majesty's  attention  to  the  present  needs 
of  the  two  missionary  bodies  above  named,  and  also  to  the 
needs  of  the  other  body  of  Catalonian  Capucins  of  the  Province 
of  Guayana,  as  stated  in  the  documents,  copies  of  which  I  sub- 
mitted, and  may  be  found  from  page  247  to  page  256  of  the 
appended  testimony.  Particular  information  of  the  present 
condition  of  these  Missions  is  found  also  in  Notes  No.  4,  No.  7, 
and  No.  10  of  the  Book  of  Notes,  which  corroborate  and  com- 
plete what  is  said  in  the  documents  above  mentioned  and  in  the 
minutes  or  journal  of  the  general  visit.  Evils  of  great  impor- 
tance, requiring  prompt  remedy,  are  now  being  felt  in  the 
Provinces  of  Cuniana  and  Barcelona,  and  are  due  to  no  other 
cause  than  the  scarcity  of  funds.  The  fact  is  acknowledged 
that  the  missionary  work  is  no  longer  carried  out  with  as  much 
zeal  and  efficiencv-as  in  former  times,  or  as  it  is  now  carried 


22 

out  in  Guayaiia  by  tlio  Catalonian  Caj)iicin.s.  This  matter  has 
been  treated  by  me  sej)arately  in  a  special  report  whicli,  upon 
the  result  of  my  general  visit,  I  sent  to  His  Majesty  and  his 
Supreme  Council. 

3.  In  si)ite  of  all  this,  it  must  be  said  that  all  the  progress 
made  in  this  Government,  in  spiritual  and  temporal  matters, 
is  due  to  the  two  communities  above  referred  to,  and,  also, 
that  no  further  progress  can  be  expected  to  come  from  other 
sources,  either  in  the  same  two  provinces,  or  in  the  Province 
of  Guayana,  where  they  have  begun  to  evangelize. 

4.  These  two  missionary  bodies  are  certainly  the  cause  of 
the  pacification  of  these  provinces.  With  no  little  diffi- 
cult}', and  incurring  grave  risks,  they  have  subdued  the  In- 
dians, and  succeeded  in  establishing  79  Indian  villages,  the 
town  of  Aragua,  and  the  settlement  of  El  Pao.  In  tiie  vil- 
lages aforesaid  the}'  have  congregated  from  2(1  to  27,000 
natives,  most  of  whom  have  been  converted  to  our  Holy 
Religion.  In  the  Cariljbean  villages  of  the  neighborhood  of 
tiie  Orinoco,  where  there  are  no  missionaries  to  attend  to  the 
education  of  the  inhabitants,  or  where  the  missionaries,  if 
any,  sent  there  have  not  been  given  such  an  escort  as  was 
necessary  to  their  protection,  heathenism  still  prevails.  The 
inliabitants  are  baptized  only  in  case  of  necessity,  but  they 
do  not  refuse  this  Holy  Sacrament  to  be  administered  to  them, 
wlicn  in  condition  to  receive  it,  or  to  their  infant  children. 

l)Ut  many  among  the  inhal)itants  of  botii  tiie  latter  and  the 
former  vilhigi'S  are  lost,  unless,  for  their  good  I'oi'tune,  some 
missionary  jiriest  ha[){)ens  to  reach  their  residence  in  time 
enough  to  minister  to  their  needs.  The  number  of  mission- 
aries sent  to  these  Provinces  is  not  snfficient  to  permit  any 
priest  to  be  permanently  located  at  any  viHage,  and  attend 
to  the  religious  education  of  its  inhabitants.  The  result  is 
that  the  children  grow  up  with  the  same  habits  and  ideas  of 
their  {)areii(s,  and  that  ('hiistian  religion  does  not  become 
iirndy  rooted  in  these  ^lissions.  Indeed,  it  is  a  miracle  for 
the  Missions  themselves  to  have  survived,  as  no  restraint  of 
any  kind  can  be  exercised  on  the  Indians  who  inhaltit  them. 
In  nianv  eases  thei'e  is  onlv  one  missionarv  for  two,  three  and 


23 

even  four  villages,  separated  from  each  other  by  large  dis- 
tances. The  same  thing  hajipens  in  the  matter  of  teachers 
(doctrineros),  who  are  compelled  to  spend  their  lives  on  horse- 
back, going  from  one  place  to  another.  In  many  cases  a  priest 
says  mass  at  one  village  which  is  not  within  convenient  dis- 
tance of  another,  and  the  inhabitants  of  tlie  latter  have  to  do 
without  mass,  unless  the  priest  can  come  and  say  it  a  second 
time. 

5.  It  is  also  due  to  these  two  bodies  of  missionaries  that  the 
Spaniards  succeeded  in  establishing  themselves  in  lands  of 
more  fertility  than  those  close  to  the  coast,  and  in  increasing 
the  number  of  their  farms,  and  of  the  towns,  which  now  are 
eight,  in  these  Provinces.  It  is  due  to  them,  furthermore,  that 
the  Royal  Treasury  receives  tribute  from  thirty-nine  villages 
already  Christianized,  and  is  able  therefore  to  meet  the  ex- 
penses required  for  the  support  of  the  Churches,  and  the  pay- 
ment of  the  teachers  and  local  authorities,  leaving  a  large 
balance  to  dispose  of  in  some  other  ways.  The  amount  of 
these  receipts  will  be  doubled  in  a  few  years,  as  many  other 
villages  will  hereafter  become  fully  Christianized  and  begin  to 
pay  tribute. 

6.  If  these  missionary  communities  should  be  assisted  in  the 
manner  and  form  I  have  suggested  to  His  jNIajesty,  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  Guarauna  Indians,  who  inhabit  the  swamps  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  would  be  ]-)acified  and  induced  to 
settle  on  the  dry  lands  of  the  interior,  and  also  that  the  exten- 
sive province  of  Guayana  would  then  be  explored  and  pacified. 
That  would  be  the  only  way  to  cause  the  Spaniards  to  occupy 
the  fertile  and  vacant  lands  which  the  Indians  fail  to  take 
advantage  of,  and  secure  the  population  of  the  banks  and  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Orinoco  River.  This  will  be  treated  more 
in  full  in  some  other  part  of  this  Report,  but  the  above  has  been 
stated  beforehand  in  order  to  cause  what  I  have  said  about 
the  importance  of  these  missions  to  be  well  understood.  It  is 
necessary  for  these  two  missionar}'  bodies  to  be  properly 
assisted,  because  it  is  through  their  work,  and  in  no  other 
way,  that  religion  can  be  established  in  these  vast  Royal 
dominions,  nor  can  in  any  other  way  these  remote  Provinces 


24 

be  pacified  and  populated  l»y  Si)aniaiils.  Experience  has 
shown  in  the  whole  America  that  the  hitter  will  not  settle  on 
any  territory  wliidi  has  not  been  pacified. 


Chapter  IV. 

Present  condition  of  the  Provinces  of  Camand  and  Barcelona, 
wliich  are  the  principal  provinces  of  this  Government — Hoio 
little  can  he  undertaken  therein,  and  upon  whom  the  execution 
of  the  order  to  move  the  Guayana  depends. 

1.  The  poor  condition  in  which  the  Government  was  in 
1720,  and  the  evident  progress  which,  in  the  43  years  subse- 
quent to  that  date,  has  taken  place  in  the  same,  due  to  the 
missionary  bodies  which  are  engaged  in  the  evangelization 
thereof,  and  without  which  none  of  the  measures  taken  by  my 
predecessors  would  have  been  of  any  effect,  having  been  dem- 
onstrated, it  is  now  })roper  to  show  what  the  condition  of  the 
same  is  at  the  present  time,  because  this  is  a  })oint  to  be  con- 
sidered for  the  execution  of  the  Royal  Order  of  May  27,  1762, 
directing  that  Guayana  be  moved  to  Angostura,  and  to  ex- 
plain furthermore  upon  whom  the  compliance  with  the  said 
Royal  Order  depends. 

2.  I  say,  that  notwithstanding  the  progress  shown  b}''  me  to 
have  taken  jdace  in  these  Provinces,  they  are  still  in  too  poor 
a  position  as  to  be  able  to  undertake  in  Guayana  a  project 
of  this  nature  so  superior  to  their  forces,  for,  after  all,  they  are 
little  less  than  nninhal)ited,  and  have  no  more  than  eight 
towns,  all  of  them  very  small.  These  towns  are  as  follows: 
Five  on  the  Northern  coast ;  another  {San  Balthasar  de  los  Arias, 
or  Cumanacoa),  at  ten  leagues  distant  from  the  capital  of 
Cumani4;  and  in  the  midst  of  the  mountains,  the  town  of 
Aragua,  and  the  settlement  of  Kl  Pao,  at  the  head  of  the  ex- 
tensive plains  of  Barcelona,  which  are  the  nearest  to  the 
Orinoco  River,  as  all  appears  from  the  General  Map. 

3.  Notes  No.  3  and  No.  0  of  the  Book  of  Notes  explain  the 
number  of  inhabitants  as  well  as  the  resources  and  means  of 


25 

these   towns.     I  shall   briefly   mention    here   what   is   stated' 
there. 

The  Capital  of  Cumana  has  550  vecinos  (suburban  residents),. 
and  776  families,  including  those  of  the  soldiers,  and  those  in- 
habiting the  valleys  of  Bordones,  Mochima,  Santa  Fe,  and  the 
whole  coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Cariaco.  The  total  population  is 
4,372,  including  the  troops  and  937  slaves  of  all  races,  ages 
and  sexes,  all  subject  to  the  only  Parish  existing  in  the  city. 
All  the  able-bodied  male  inhabitants  are  enlisted  for  military 
service,  but  the  whole  force  actually  consists  of  799  men,  out 
of  which  270  or  290  are  wdiite,  the  balance  being  negroes, 
mulatoes  and  half  breeds.  This  capital,  although  the  best  of 
all  these  cities,  as  far  as  buildings  are  concerned,  contains 
only  about  80  very  small,  tile-roofed,  stone  houses,  150  houses, 
also  small  and  tile-roofed,  built  out  of  timber  and  mud,  and 
200  houses,  more  or  less,  likewise  made  of  mud  and  timber,  but 
thatched  roofed.  The  Parochial  Church  and  the  Convents 
are  built  out  of  the  same  materials.  There  are  no  public 
buildings  in  this  city,  and  even  those  most  necessary,  as  a 
jail,  a  City  Hall,  or  a  school  are  missing.  Its  inhabitants  are 
all  of  limited  resources;  about  one-third  of  their  number,  and 
these  are  the  ones  who  are  in  better  circumstances,  are  en- 
gaged in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  and  in  raising  cattle;. 
another  portion  of  the  inhabitants  is  devoted  to  fishing  and 
other  maritime  occupations;  and  the  balance  consists  of  gov- 
ernment clerks,  servants,  and  laborers,  most  of  them  in  extreme 
poverty.  Such  is  the  capital  of  the  most  extensive  government 
of  Cumana. 

4.  The  second  city  in  the  same  province  is  called  San 
Balthasar  de  los  Arias,  which  has  90  vecinos  (suburban  resi- 
dents), 117  families,  and  795  inhabitants,  including  60  slaves. 
It  contains  88  thatched-roofed  timber  and  mud  houses,  and 
213  men  ready  to  take  up  arms,  out  of  which  60  or  70  are 
white  and  all  the  others  colored.  The  church  is  a  small  timber 
and  mud,  thatched-roofed  building.  There  is  no  other  pub- 
lic building.  The  residents  of  this  town  are  extremely  poor, 
although  the  lands  around  it  are  fertile. 

5.  The  town  of  San  Phelipe  de  Austria,  distant  from  the  capi- 
tal twelve  leagues  by  sea,  and  18  or  20  by  land,  contains  200' 


2(; 

wcmos  (suburban  residents),  2-')i>  fainilirs,  107  slaves,  and  1,395 
souls,  102  thatched-roofed  houses,  .scattered  thr()U;!;li  the  neigh- 
boring grounds,  belong  to  this  town,  and  270  men  capable  of 
bearing  arms,  SO  otwliich  are  wbitf,  all  tlic  others  being  colored. 
Tlie  church,  although  in  a  very  bad  condition,  is  the  only 
stone  buihling  of  its  kind  in  the  city.  It  is  thatched  roofed. 
The  town  has  no  other  i»ublic  building. 

6.  Carupano,  distant  from  the  capital  30  or  34  leagues  by 
land,  and  the  same,  more  or  less,  by  sea,  has  170  vecinos  (.sub- 
urban residents),  1S7  families,  and  928  inliabitants  in  all. 
The  houses,  all  thatched  roofed  and  scattered  through  the 
neighboring  ground,  are  108  in  numl)er.  The  men  capable  of 
carrying  arms  arc  101.     The  church  is  in  ruin.s. 

7.  Rio  Caribes,  distant  from  the  capital  30  leagues  by  land 
and  the  .same  by  sea,  contains  130  families.  The  whole  popu- 
lation, including  in  its  number  25  slaves,  is  1,077.  It  has  139 
thatched-roofed  houses,  and  226  men  capable  of  bearing  arms, 
most  of  tliem  colored.  The  church  is  of  the  same  material  as 
the  houses. 

8.  At  the  time  of  my  visit,  tlie  town  of  Araya  had  208  fam- 
ilies, 71  slaves,  and  a  total  population  of  1,092,  including  the 
troops,  the  Guaiquery  Indians,  and  59  militiamen.  A  great 
numl.>er  of  the.se  people  are  now  scattered  in  other  towns. 
They  left  the  places  when  the  fortress  therein  erected  was  de- 
molished, and  when  the  cisterns  which  supplied  water  both  to 
the  Spaniards  and  the  Indians  ceased  to  be  of  servi(;e. 

9.  In  the  Province  of  iJareclona  the  tirst  city  to  be  noticed 
is  its  capital  with  550  rcrinos  (surl)url)an  residents),  005  fam- 
ilies, and  a  total  population  of  3,.")51  inhabitants,  including 
035  slaves.  The  houses  are  432,  all  of  which,  except  20,  are 
frame  and  mud  thatched-roofed  buildings.  The  balance  are 
covered  with  tiles.  The  city  can  muster  090  men  caj^able  of 
bearing  arms,  250  out  of  this  numlter  are  white  while  the 
others  are  colored.  About  one-third  of  the  inhabitants  is  en- 
gaged in  Hshing  industries  and  general  seafaring.  All  the 
others  are  engage(l  in  agricultural  ])ursuits.  The  church, 
which  was  to  l)e  a  stone  building,  has  not  ]>een  finished,  and 
during  the  many  years  which  have  elapsed  since  the  beginning 


27 

•of  fhe  work  only  the  foundation  has  been  completed.  There 
are  neither  workingmen  nor  money  to  continue  the  building 
■of  the  church.     The  city  has  no  public  building  of  any  kind. 

10.  The  town  of  Aragua  has  150  vecinos  (suburban  residents), 
180  families,  and  a  total  population  of  824  inhabitants. 
There  are  about  150  houses,  all  of  them  thatched  roofed.  The 
•church  is  built  of  the  same  material  as  the  houses.  There  are 
about  145  men  capable  of  carrying  arms  :  all  of  them  are 
•colored,  extremely  poor,  and  engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  the 
isoil. 

11.  The  town  of  El  Pao  has  90  vecinos  (suburban  residents), 
121  families,  and  632  inhabitants.  The  houses,  all  of  them 
thatched  roofed,  are  90  in  number.  The  church  is  of  the  same 
material.  The  men  capable  of  bearing  arms  are  165,  half  of 
whom  are  white  and  the  other  colored. 

12.  In  the  written  explanation  to  be  found  on  the  map  a 
general  idea  has  been  given  of  the  total  number  of  regular 
troops  and  militia  of  this  government,  including  the  garrisons 
•of  Presidio  and  Guayana,  and  the  demolished  castle  Araya, 
amounting  in  all  to  3,288  men,  1,000  of  whom,  more  or  less, 
are  white.  The  rest  are  half  breeds,  mulattoes,  and  negroes. 
The  smallness  of  this  force  is  rendered  still  more  to  be  regretted 
on  account  of  the  distances  between  the  towns  and  settlements 
where  it  is  scattered.  It  would  be  impossible  for  any  one 
to  call  together  at  once  the  whole  militia  ;  and  if  it  were  pos- 
sible to  do  so,  the  calling  would  be  injurious,  as  it  would  be 
equal  to  the  taking  away  of  many  families  from  small  towns  or 
unprotected  villages. 

13.  In  addition  to  the  scarcity  of  population  in  the  eight 
towns  above  named  it  is  to  be  noticed  that  skilled  laborers  can 
not  be  found  in  any  of  them,  even  for  the  most  necessary  things. 
In  the  capital  of  Cumand;  there  are  two  blacksmiths  and  they 
are  only  able  to  make  nails  and  screws  for  the  ships.  Ship 
carpenters  and  carpenters  of  other  kinds  are  in  greater 
number,  but  none  has  sufficient  skill  to  build  a  derrick 
■or  to  construct  an  engine  of  any  importance.  There  are 
three  or  four  masons,  but  without  sufficient  skill  to  build  well  a 
stone  wall,  and  this  is  the  reason  why  all  the  churches  within 


28 

the  limits  of  this  government,  except  at  Barcelona,  are  made- 
of  timber  and  mini;  that  of  Barcelona  is  unfinished,  as  has 
been  stated,  and  althougli  in  ("umana  the  i)eo})le  have  under- 
taken to  build  a  stone  churcli  and  have  accumulated  already 
for  this  purpose  18,000  stones,  witii  all  the  other  necessary 
material,  work  has  not  yet  been  commenced  for  the  lack  of  an 
architect.  The  people  there  are  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the 
Bishop  in  order  to  decide  from  what  place  an  architect  can  be 
brought;  but  I  do  not  know  how  that  can  be  done  unless  at 
extreme  expense. 

14.  The  above  statements  show  the  present  condition  of  these 
Provinces.  This  knowledge  is  indispensable  for  anyone  who 
wishes  to  form  an  exact  idea  of  what  can  be  undertaken  in 
Guayana.  There  is  no  hope  of  securing  assistance  on  the 
part  of  the  Indians,  because  even  those  who  might  give  it, 
owing  to  their  having  been  Christianized  and  kept  for  a  long 
time  in  obedience  to  the  authorities,  are  settled  in  the 
northern  provinces,  or  on  the  skirts  of  the  mountains  which 
run  across  the  same,  excepting  the  settlement  of  San  Matlieo, 
which  is  on  the  other  side  and  at  the  entrance  of  the  extensive 
plain  of  Barcelona,  as  shown  by  the  above  map.  Those 
Christianized  Indians  are  at  a  very  great  distance  and  cannot 
leave  their  homes  and  go  to  work  on  the  Orinoco,  in  a  climate 
very  different  from  that  to  wliifli  they  are  accustomed.  On 
the  other  hand,  there  is  no  way  to  compel  them  to  march 
through  the  uninhal)ited  plains  and  territory  of  the  Province 
of  P)arcelona  to  go  and  work  in  the  Province  of  (Jtiayana. 

lo.  it  is  further  to  be  considered  that  the  Caribbean  Indians 
are  moi-t;d  enemies  of  the  native  ti'ibes  which  have  been 
Christianized,  and  that  therefore  when  the  Indians  belonging 
to  the  l;iUer  pass  through  the  said  plains  on  their  way  to 
Cuayaua  a  bloody  encounter  may  take  place,  there  being  no 
way  to  prevent  the  Caribbean  Indians  from  making  an  attack 
of  this  kind. 

10.  No  de[)endence  can  be  placed  upf)n  the  Caribbean  Mis- 
sions of  the  Franciscan  Fathers  and  the  Catalonian  Capucins 
of  the  Province  of  Guayana,  because  these  Missions  are  re-^ 
cently  established.     The  natives  do  not  understand  well  the 


29 

language,  and  are  not  yet  accustomed  to  obedience  or  to  work 
too  much,  and  if  urged  to  do  what  they  do  not  wish,  they  are 
very  apt  to  run  away  and  return  to  the  forests.  All  measures 
of  coercion  would  result  in  the  abandonment  of  the  Indian 
villages.  In  addition  to  the  loss  of  those  wretched  people, 
many  other  irreparable  inju.ries  would  be  thereby  inflicted. 

17.  The  detriment  to  the  interest  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
■Spanish  towns,  which  will  be  the  consequence  of  the  exact 
compliance  with  the  Royal  Order,  as  well  as  the  large  amount 
■of  money  which  will  be  required  to  comply  with  it,  and  the 
unconquerable  difficulty  which  would  have  to  be  overcome, 
shall  be  made  the  subject  of  a  proper  explanation  in  the  second 
part  of  this  Report.  That  explanation  will  l)e  better  understood 
^fter  having  acquired  the  general  knowledge  herein  given  of 
the  Presidio  and  Province  of  Guayana. 


Chapter  V. 

What  the  Province  of  Guayana  ivas  in  the  year  1730,  and  what 
'progress  was  made  in  it  during  the  previous  llf.!  years. 

1.  In  the  year  1720  the  Province  of  Guayana  was  a  de- 
pendency of  the  Government  of  La  Trinidad,  and  no  other 
settlement  existed  in  it  than  the  Presidio  and  city  of  Santo 
Thome,  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  Usupamo  River.  The 
settlement  consisted  of  only  20  or  25  houses,  inhabited  by  as 
many  vecinos  deprived  of  all  human  assistance,  and  with 
no  means  whatever  to  clear  the  dense  forests  which  sur- 
rounded the  place,  and  which  caused  its  climate  to  be  un- 
bearable. Provisions  for  the  support  of  the  people  were  scarce 
in  the  extreme,  and  generally  no  other  food  could  be  obtained 
than  the  fish  of  the  river,  which  was  of  various  classes,  but 
always  unwholesome,  and  apt  to  produce  fevers,  some  game, 
and  such  vegetables  as  could  be  raised  on  the  grounds  nearest 
the  city.  The  settlers  did  not  venture  to  go  too  far  from  their 
abodes  for  fear  of  the  Caribbean  Indians,  who  infested  the 
locality.     The  lack  of  proper  food  and  the  harshness  of  the 


30 

cliiiiatr  ke}»t  all  these  pDor  iiilial>itants  without  eiijoyino-  good 
liealth  even  for  an  iiour. 

'2.  'riie  lortifications  of  the  J'rcsidio  consisted  only  of  the 
castle,  ealleil  San  Francisco,  scarcely  defensible  on  account  of 
its  feeble  and  almost  ruined  walls,  and  of  the  few  men  Avhich 

it  had  to  manage  its   \ r  aitilleiy.     There  were  only  four  or 

six  cannons  of  small  ealil)re  and  one  lo-inch  gun  without  its- 
corresponding  battery. 

This,  according  to  the  testimony  of  three  old  men  who  still 
live  in  (Juayaua,  was  iIk'  niisc'i'ahle  condition  of  that  city  in 
the  year  above  nanie<l.  and  this  is  all  the  progress  which  was 
made  there  in  the  111  years  which  elapsed  ever  since  its 
foundation  on  the  site  on  whieh  it  now  stands,  and  to  which  it 
was  moved  from  its  original  location  seven  leagues  up  the 
mouth  of  the  Caroni  River,  opposite  the  Faxardo  Island, 
as  shown  by  the  map  hereto  ai)pended  and  by  the  statements 
of  Father  Gumilla,  when  referring  (o  liistorian  Ilerrera,  in  folio 
10  of  his  "Orinoco  Hustrado." 


Chapter  VI. 

Measures  taken  (o  /ortifij  the  Orinoco  between  1694.  ^^id  the  month 
of  May,  1762,  irhcn.  the  matter  was  left  as  it  now  stands. 

1.  Ill  the  year  MTli.  when,  according  to  Father  (iumilla,  old 
(liiavMiia  had  been  |  ihi  iKhrcil  ;iii(I  luiriit  down,  some  of  its  in- 
habitants, showing  a  good  deal  of  sound  judgment,  considered 
that  the  place  where  the  city  now  stands  was  the  most  adequate 
to  l)nild  it  anew.  As  it  was  possible  for  them  to  fortify  the 
rock  on  which  the  iSan  Francisco  Castle  was  ei'ectcd,  they  and 
their  successors  were  enabled,  although  with  almost  incredible 
j)erseverance,  to  maintain  themselves  in  exile  in  such  solitude. 
It  was  due  to  these  pioneers  tliat  no  foreigners  could  come  and 
take  [)Ossession  of  the  Orinoco,  because  although  the  resistance 
which  they  could  have  made  was  not  very  great,  it  was  sufficient, 
however,  not  to  allow  strangers  to  dislodge  them  from  their  posi- 
tion.   This  rendered  them  strong  and  respectable  to  the  eyes  of 


31 

the  enemies.  But  as  the  number  of  inhabitants  was  so  small^ 
the  castle  so  dilapidated,  and  the  artillery  so  inferior,  it  was 
not  possible  for  the  people  of  Guayana  to  prevent  tlie  foreign- 
ers from  passing  up  and  down  in  front  of  tlieir  place.  This 
could  be  done  freely  during  the  night,  and  also  in  day  time, 
by  the  said  foreigners  united  to  the  Caribbean  Indians,  Avho 
infested  the  unexplored  districts  of  the  Provinces  of  Cumana, 
Barcelona,  and  Caracas,  and  who,  by  navigating  the  Orinoco, 
could  reach  the  Provinces  of  Caracas  and  Santa  Fe,  and 
plunder  and  burn  all  the  missionary  establishments  which 
had  been  founded  there.  The  Dutch,  more  especially  than 
allother  foreigners,  used  to  trade  with  the  Caribbean  Indians 
and  take  away  i'rom  their  homes  as  many  natives  as  they  could 
to  be  put  to  work  in  the  plantations  of  their  own  Colonies  at 
Esquivo,  Berbis,  Surinama,  and  Corentin. 

2.  The  sense  of  insecurity  produced  by  these  incursions  of 
foreigners  and  Caribbean  Indians,  and  the  losses  sustained, 
induced  the  Governors  of  La  Trinidad,  Cumana,  and  Caracas, 
as  well  as  the  Franciscan  Missionaries  of  'Piritu,  the  Catalo- 
nian  Capucins  of  the  Province  of  Guayana,  the  Andalusian 
Missionaries  of  Caracas,  the  Jesuits  of  the  New  Kingdom  of 
Granada,  and  the  Missionaries  of  the  ^leta  and  the  Casanare 
rivers  to  address  different  memorials  to  His  Majesty,  asking 
him  to  graciously  provide  what  in  his  Royal  judgment  would 
be  conducive  to  stop  the  inhuman  acts  of  the  Caribbean 
savages  and  the  unlawful  trade  of  tlie  Dutch.  These  rep- 
resentations received  the  kind  consideration  of  His  iNIajesty 
since  1094,  and,  in  order  to  provide  the  proper  remedy  to  the 
evils  complained  of,  a  report  w^as  asked  of  the  Governors  of 
La  Trinidad  and  Guayana  and  the  Prefects  of  the  Franciscan, 
Capncin,  and  Jesuit  Missions  of  the  Orinoco.  When  these 
reports  were  given,  they  were  referred  by  the  Council  to  the 
Audience  of  Santa  Fe,  with  instructions  to  substantiate  the 
truth  of  their  statements  and  to  proceed,  upon  examination  of 
experts,  if  the  Audience  by  a  majority  of  votes  deemed  it  ad- 
visable to  do  so,  to  fortify  the  Orinoco  River  in  such  a  manner 
as  might  be  thought  proper.  Nothing  was  done  in  this  respect,, 
however,  until  the  year  1719,  when  Don  Antonio  de  Pedrosa 


32 

was  attending  to  the  organization  of  tlie  vice  royalty  of  Santa 
Fe.  But  it  was  decided  in  that  year  that  an  exploration  and 
survey  of  the  banks  of  the  Orinoco  should  be  made  by  some 
Jesuit  Fathers  and  other  persons  of  knowledge  and  experience. 
The  result  was  a  recommendation  to  fortify  the  Faxardo  Island, 
which,  for  the  reasons  set  forth  in  the  Report,  was  deemed  the 
best  place  for  the  purpose  desired. 

The  Council,  in  an  opinion  dated  June  7, 1723,  submitted  to 
His  Majesty  the  above  said  recommendation ;  Ijut  as,  in  the 
meantime,  some  other  representations  had  been  made  to  His 
Majesty,  by  the  authorities  and  peo])le  of  these  [)rovinces,  the 
action  of  His  Ahijesty  was  suspended,  until  the  Council  could 
report  on  the  new  petitions.  This  gave  occasion  to  three 
further  oi)inions  of  the  Council.  Ui^on  consideration  of  the 
whole  subject  His  Majesty  decided,  by  Decree  of  July  1,  1726, 
tiiat  a  castle  should  be  built,  at  the  expense  of  the  Royal 
Treasury,  at  the  Faxardo  Island,  and  that  the  direction  of  the 
work  should  be  entrusted  to  Don  Carlos  de  Sucre,  who  Avas  at 
that  time  the  Governor  of  the  city  of  Cuba.  In  compliance 
witli  this  decision  of  His  Majesty  the  proper  commission  and 
papers  were  forwarded  to  Sucre  on  October  31,  1725.  He 
was  also  ai)pointed  (Tovernor  of  Cumana,  which  Province, 
formerly  a  dependency  of  the  Government  of  La  Trinidad, 
was  annexed  to  this  Government  of  La  Guayana,  by  Royal 
Letter,  issued  at  Seville  on  the  30th  of  June,  1731.  The  said 
Royal  Letter,  as  well  as  the  commission  and  other  papers  sent 
to  Sucre,  are  kept  in  the  Archives,  together  with  another 
Royal  Ordinance,  issued  also  at  Seville,  on  December  22, 1729, 
which  contains  full  instructions  as  to  the  building  of  the 
fortress  at  the  Faxardo  Island.  This  ordinance  has  been 
copied  in  tlie  testimony  hereto  appended,  from  pnge  11  to 
page  1<;. 

3.  By  Royal  Letters  of  January  15, 1737,  His  Majesty  directed 
Don  Pablo  Diaz  Faxardo,  an  engineer,  who  was  then  at  Carta- 
gena de  Indias,  to  go  to  Guayana,  examine  the  fortifications, 
and  report  to  His  Majesty  a Ijout  tlieir  condilion  and  useful- 
ness, as  well  as  about  any  repairs  whicii  might  be  necessary. 
The  engineer  was  also  instructed  to  proceed  in  all  this  with  the 


33 

advice  of  Don  Agustin  de  Arredondo,  Governor  of  La  Trinidad. 
In  compliance  witli  tliis  Royal  decree,  surveys  and  explorations 
were  made  of  the  mouths  of  the  Orinoco,  a  portion  of  the  river 
itself,  the  place  named  La  Angostura,  the  site  of  Guayana  and  the 
Faxardo  Island,  and  the  work  was  done,  a  conference  was  held 
at  La  Trinidad,  between  Engineer  Faxardo  and  Governor  xVr- 
redondo,  on  June  28, 1733,  wherein  it  was  decided  unanimously 
that  the  Castle  of  San  Francisco  de  Asis  should  be  left  where 
it  had  been  built,  because  its  situation  was  tlie  best  and  the 
most  advantageous  for  its  purposes  along  the  whole  course  of 
the  Orinoco,  and  that  certain  repairs  should  be  made  in  it. 
It  was  decided  also  to  fortify  the  Padrastro  Hill,  and  to  build 
another  fort,  on  the  i.sland  of  Limones,  opposite  the  San  Fran- 
cisco Castle.  The  fortiiication  of  the  Faxardo  Island  was 
deemed  useless  and  even  injurious.  All  of  this  fully  appears 
from  the  hereto  appended  testimony,  from  page  61  to  page 
08  ;  but  there  is  nothing  to  show  that  His  Majesty,  upon  con- 
sideration of  this  Report  of  Engineer  Faxardo  and  Governor 
Arredondo,  should  have  been  pleased  to  take  action  u])on  the 
subject.  Mention  has  been  made  here  of  all  this  on  account 
'Of  its  importance. 

4.  Don  Carlos  de  Sucre  took  posse'ssion  of  the  Government 
of  Cum.ana,  in  August,  1733  ;  and  in  the  month  of  February, 

1734,  after  giving  at  his  capital  such  orders  as  he  thought 
proper,  he  started  on  his  voyage  to  the  Presidio  of  Guayana, 
taking  with  him  the  Engineer  Don  Pablo  Diaz  Faxardo,  who 
was  at  C'Umana,  on  his  way  to  Cartagena,  after  having  fulfilled 
his  mission  on  the  Orinoco.  When  the  Presidio  was  reached, 
:Sucre  examined  the  fortifications,  and  inspected  with  great 
care  the  Angostura  and  the  Faxardo  Island  which  he  had 
been  instructed  to  fortify.  The  result  of  his  labors  is  embodied 
in  the  report  submitted  by  him  to  His  Majesty,  on  May  10, 

1735,  wherein  he  showed  the  impossibility  of  fortifying  said 
Island,  and  said  that  all  the  previous  reports  given  to  the  con- 
trary had  been  given  by  people  belonging  to  religious  orders, 
who  had  no  knowledge  whatever  in  matters  of  fortification. 
This  report  made  by  Sucre,  together  with  a  memorial  of  Mar- 
quis San  Phelipe,  and  another  of  the  Governor  of  La  Trinidad, 

Vol.  1,  Ven.— 3 


34 

were  referred  by  1 1  is  Majesty  to  the  Council  of  the  Indies  for 
tlie  proper  report.  The  Council  thought  it  advisable,  before 
I)assin<r  any  opinion  on  the  subject,  to  hear  some  other  per- 
sons, especially  Fray  Francisco  del  Castillo,  one  of  the  Piritu 
Missionaries.  Tiie  latter  reported  that  the  Faxardo  Island 
was  useless  for  fortification  purposes,  and  that  the  narrow  part 
of  the  Orinoco,  La  Angostura,  was  precisely  the  best  and  most 
adequate  place  for  the  building  thereon  of  the  proposed  Fort- 
ress. The  council  advised  His  Majesty  to  cause  La  Angostura 
to  be  fortified,  as  suggested  in  the  above  mentioned  reports; 
and  His  Majesty  decided  accordingly  on  December  10,  1738. 

5.  Before  His  Majesty  having  taken  any  action  on  the  repre- 
sentations made  by  Sucre,  Father  Joseph  Gumilla  sent  to 
the  Royal  and  Supreme  Council  of  the  Indies  a  memorial  or 
report,  urging,  with  arguments  which  have  no  weight  for  any 
one  acquainted  with  the  Orinoco,  the  fortification  of  the  P^ax- 
aido  Island,  and  criticizing  the  lleport  of  ( iovernor  Sucre,  as 
well  as  the  statements  of  the  Memorial  of  Marquis  San  Phe- 
lipe.  All  of  this  is  shown  by  the  hereto  appended  testimony, 
from  page  20  to  page  33.  Another  memorial  of  Mar([uis  San 
Phelipe  is  to  be  found  in  the  same  testimony,  from  page  33 
to  i)age  40,  wherein  Father  (Jumilla's  statements  are  refuted 
upon  grounds  much  more  substantial,  and  uikmi  nnich  better 
intbrmation.  1^'ather  Gumilla  doubtless  had  addressed  His 
^hljesty  only  to  endorse  the  o[)ini()n  of  the  Jesuits,  who  in 
1719  had  ex()lored  the  Orinoco  by  order  of  Don  Antonio  de  la 
Pedrosa.  Father  (Jumilla's  own  ideas,  as  shown  by  a  letter 
which  he,  in  his  own  liandwi-iiing.  wrote  to  my  predecessor, 
Don  Pedro  Tavares,  an^l  can  be  lound  in  the  hereto  a])peiided 
te.stimony,  from  page  l()  to  i)age  42,  were  that  the  Faxai-do 
Island  was  useless.  In  this  letter  he  said  that  if  he  wrote  to 
the  contrary,  was  only  to  obey  his  suj)erior,  the  Provincial 
of  his  order,  who  hail  uriicfcd  jiim  to  do  so;  but  tiiat  in  his. 
own  conscienti(jus  opinion  the  lortitieation  of  the  ]>imones 
Island  was  much  better,  because  it  would  close  the  Orinoco, 
anil  would  be  less  expensive.  To  fortify  the  Faxardo  Island, 
he  said,  would  be  e(iuivalent  to  leave  twelve  leagues  of  terri- 
tory to  the  mercy  of  the  foreigners,  and  to  open  to  them  a 


35 

road  for  making  incursions,  without  being  molested,  in  the 
Provinces  of  Cumana,  Barcelona  and  Caracas.  Some  other 
important  statements  were  made  in  this  letter. 

6.  The  Council  took  no  action  on  either  the  memorial  sub- 
mitted to  it  b}^  Father  Gumilla,  or  the  memorial  filed  also  be- 
fore it,  in  reply  to  Father  Gum  ilia's  statements,  by  Marquis 
San  Phelipe;  but  it  took  both  of  them  into  proper  considera- 
tion. When  His  Majesty  was  pleased  to  appoint  Don  Gregorio 
de  Espinosa,  Governor  of  Cumana,  giving  him  orders  identical 
to  those  which  his  predecessor  Don  Carlos  Sucre  had  received, 
the  Council  ordered  its  Fiscal,  Don  Joseph  Borrull,  to  prepare 
the  instruction,  which  bears  date  of  December  3,  1739,  and  in 
which  the  whole  history  of  the  plan  of  the  fortification  of  the 
Orinoco  River,  up  to  the  date  of  the  instruction,  is  accurately 
given,  and  this  instruction  was  forwarded  to  Governor  Espi- 
nosa, together  with  copies  of  the  memorials  of  Father  Gumilla 
and  Marquis  San  Phelipe,  in  order  that  he  might  be  able,  with 
full  knowledge  of  all  the  aspects  of  the  case,  to  act  as  directed, 

7.  On  June,  1740,  Don  Carlos  de  Sucre  was  succeeded  by 
Don  Gregorio  de  Espinosa,  who  brought  with  him  Don 
Antonio  Jordan,  an  engineer,  whom  he  at  once  sent  to  El 
Presidio  de  Guayana  to  rebuild  the  city,  wliich  had  been  plun- 
dered and  burnt  down  by  an  English  corsair,  and  to  make  at  La 
Angostura  and  the  Faxardo  Island  such  surveys  as  the  condi- 
tion of  the  waters  of  the  Orinoco  would  permit  at  that  season. 
Governor  Espinosa  remained  at  the  cai)ital  to  attend  to  cer- 
tain war  business  which  required  his  presence.  Jordan  died 
while  performing  his  duties,  and  although  Governor  Espinosa 
wrote  to  the  Governor  of  Caracas  and  the  Viceroy  of  Santa  Fe, 
asking  them  respectively  for  another  engineer  to  continue  the 
work,  none  could  be  found.  For  this  reason  Governor  Espi- 
nosa decided,  in  1743,  personally  to  go  to  the  said  Presidio,  in 
company  with  some  persons  of  experience,  complete  the  ex- 
plorations and  surveys  of  La  Angostura  and  the  Faxardo 
Islands  and  examine  the  situation  of  Guayana.  The  Gov- 
ernor and  his  companions  were  all  of  the  opinion  that  the  for- 
tress should  be  built  on  the  Island  of  Limones,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  channel  opposite  the  San  Francisco  Castle.     This  site 


36 

was  (li'cidc'd  to  1)0  the  only  one  adequate  to  close  the  river. 
A  report  to  this  effect  was  sent  t<>  His  Majesty,  through  his 
Royal  and  .Supreme  Council  ol"  tlic  Iiidii's;  but  no  action  was 
taken,  and  things  continued  during  the  wliolc  period  of  Gov- 
ernor Espinosa's  administration  as  they  had  In-en  before. 

S.  In  December,  1745,  Brigadier  Cleneral  Don  Diego  Tavares 
was  appointed  to  succeed  Don  Gregorio  de  Espinosa.  He  was 
given  tlie  siune  instructions  as  Sucre  and  Espinosa,  in  regard 
to  the  fortification  of  the  Orinoco,  and,  to  facilitate  his  action, 
he  was  supplied  with  a  copy  of  the  instruction  drawn  up  by 
Fiscal  Don  J(xsejdi  Borrull,  and  of  the  memorials  of  Father 
Gumilla,  and  Marquis  San  Fhelipe.  A  note,  written  b}'  Don 
Fernando  Trevifio,  Secretary  of  the  Council,  was  appended  to 
Fiscal  Borrull's  instruction  explaining  what  liad  been  done 
during  Governor  Espinosa's  administration,  'i'he  idea  was 
that  Governor  Tavares,  being  thus  well  acquainted  with  all 
the  facts,  should  ))roceed  as  directed.  All  of  this  fully  ap- 
pears from  the  Royal  ordinance  of  December  9,  1745,  and 
other  documents,  from  page  42  to  i)age  55  of  the  testimony 
hereto  a})i)('nded. 

9.  Brigadier  General  Tavares  took  possession  of  the  Govern- 
ment on  May,  174G,  and  personally  went  to  El  Presidio  of 
Guayana  in  the  month  of  February,  1747,  in  company  with 
Don  ( Jaspar  de  Lara,  an  engineer  whom  he  had  lu'ought  fi'om 
Sjiain.  Uj)on  examination  of  the  locality,  as  well  as  a  proper 
study  of  all  the  points  set  forth  in  the  Royal  instructions,  the 
Governor  and  tiie  engineer  agreed  to  the  following:  That  the 
fortress  should  1)0  built  on  the  island  of  Limones,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  channel  of  the  same  name.  This  agreement, 
together  with  certain  iiiajiH  then  inad(\  and  a  statement  of  the 
grounds  on  which  the  decision  had  rested,  was  sent  by  the 
Governor  to  His  Exccllonc}'  Don  Sebastian  de  Eslava,  Viceroy 
of  Santa  Fe,  to  whom  His  Majesty,  as  shown  by  the  instruc- 
tions and  Royal  orders  copied  in  the  hereto  appended  testi- 
mony, hail  entrusted  the  final  disposition  of  this  matter. 
While  waiting  for  the  action  (>f  the  Viceroy,  Tavares  returned 
to  the  capital  of  Cumana,  not  without  leaving  instructions  to 
Don  Juan  de  Dios  Valdes,  the  officer  in  command  of  El  Pre- 


37 

sidio,  to  clear  a  part  of  the  woods  of  tlie  island  of  Limoiies  and 
observe  what  effect  the  risings  of  the  Orinoco  were  likely  to 
produce  on  the  soil  of  the  island.  All  of  this  was  done  by 
Valdes,  as  will  be  explained  hereafter. 

10.  The  Viceroy  of  Santa  Fe  referred  the  letter  of  Governor 
Tavares,  together  with  the  map  and  drawings  which  accom- 
panied it,  to  Don  Juan  Bautista  Mac  Evan,  Engineer-in-Chief 
at  Cartagena;  and  upon  the  favorable  report  of  this  official 
he  imparted  his  approval  to  the  selection  of  the  site,  as  well  as 
to  all  the  other  recommendations  of  Governor  Tavares  for  the 
erection  of  the  Fortress,  and  directed  the  work  to  be  proceeded 
with  at  once.  (See  Testimony,  from  page  86  to  page  92.) 
Nothing  practical  could  be  done,  however,  at  that  time,  be- 
cause the  officials  of  the  Royal  Treasury  at  Caracas,  from  whom 
the  necessary  funds  were  asked,  failed  to  send  them.  No 
mone}'  was  obtainel  until  1752,  when  the  Viceroy  of  Santa  Fe 
sent  sixteen  thousand  dollars,  at  which  sum  the  work  had 
been  estimated.  The  Viceroy  had  been  instructed  to  do  so  by 
Royal  order  transmitted  to  him  by  His  Excellency  the  Marquis 
de  la  Ensenada,  the  text  of  which  can  be  see:i  from  page  92 
to  page  94  of  the  Testimony. 

11.  In  the  year  1753,  wlien  the  moneys  were  at  hand  and 
the  good  season  had  arrived,  Governor  Tavares  and  Engineer 
Lara  went  again  to  Guayana  in  order  to  begin  the  building  of 
the  Fortress ;  but  they  found,  as  reported  by  Commandant 
Don  Juan  de  Dios  Valdes,  that  in  consequence  of  the  clearing 
of  the  woods  at  the  Island  of  Limones,  the  waters  of  the  Ori- 
noco had  washed  out  in  the  same  island  some  23  yards  of 
land,  which  the  said  Commandant  declared  to  be  swampy  and 
easy  to  be  carried  away.  (See  from  page  55  to  page  61  of  the 
Testimony.)  The  truth  of  these  facts  having  been  ascertained, 
the  Governor  and  the  Engineer  decided  to  build  the  fortress 
on  such  substantial  and  firm  a  ground  as  might  be  found  on 
the  opposite  bank,  on  some  place  which  tlie  waters  of  the  river 
could  not  easily  reach,  and  to  begin  at  once  to  build  the  founda- 
tions. So  it  was  done,  as  stated  from  page  68  to  page  84  of  the 
Testimony,  wherein  a  particular  account  is  given  of  all  the 
reasons  which  moved  the  aforesaid  officials  to  take  this  action. 


292597 


38 

'Diis  account  was  illustratcM]  witli  a  map  and  iltawing  showing 
without  cll'ort  tlic  situation,  as  well  as  the  shape  and  size  of  tlie 
Fortress. 

12.  On  .Juneof  tlic  same  year,  1753,  Govei-noi-  Don  Diego  de 
Tavares  was  promoted  and  sent  as  Governor  to  Cartagena. 
His  successor,  Don  Matheo  Gual,  received  from  him  tlie  Fort- 
ress San  Fernando,  with  its  foundations  ahiiost  at  tlie  level  of 
the  ground.  I']ngineei' Don  Gas])ar  de  Lara  was  then  under 
arrest. 

13.  Governor  (Jual  re})()rtt'<l  to  Uis  Majesty  hy  letters  of 
Octoher,  1753,  and  .June,  1754,  the  condition  in  which  the 
Fortress  was,  the  amount  of  money,  which  out  of  the  sixteen 
thousand  dollars  appropriated  for  the  works  by  the  A'^iceroy 
of  Santa  Fe,  had  been  expended,  the  balance  which  was  at 
hand,  and  the  circumstance  that  Engineer  Lara  had  been  jnit 
under  arrest  by  his  predecessor. 

14.  His  Majesty,  by  Royal  Order  transmitted  by  Your  Ex- 
cellency, under  date  of  Madrid,  July  23,  1755,  was  pleased  to 
direct  the  work  for  the  building  of  the  Fortress  to  be  continued 
in  earnest,  making  use  of  tlie  money  which  had  been  left  un- 
expended, out  ol"  tlie  said  ^1('),000,  and  also  of  any  other  unap- 
propriated moneys  which  might  be  found  in  the  Treasury,  if 
so  proved  to  he  necessary.  His  Majesty  expressed  the  wish 
that  the  next  report  to  be  submitted  to  the  Crown  on  the  .sub- 
ject should  be  that  the  work  was  linishe(l  or  very  near  to  be  so. 
It  was  urged  furthermore  that  brick  and  not  stone  of  the  class 
which  had  been  objected  to,  should  l»e  used.  His  Majesty 
decreed  also  that  Engineer  Don  (iasj)ar  de  Tjara  should  be  set 
at  liberty  and  put  in  charge  of  the  work,  under  the  supervision 
of  the  Viceroy  and  the  Governor,  or  the  representative  of  the 
latter  at  Guayana,  but  without  allowing  any  other  person  to 
interfere  with  him,  as  far  as  his  profession  was  concerned  ;  that 
from  time  to  time  without  stopping  the  work,  a  report  should 
be  sent  to  the  \'ieei-oy  showing  exactly  all  that  had  Ix'endone; 
and  that,  in  case  the  Ijalance  of  the  apj)ropriation  should  be 
found  insufficient,  a  requisition  for  the  amount  needed  should 
be  made  to  the  Viceroy,  who  would  provide  the  means  neces- 
sary to  complete  the  work.     All  of  this  is  shown  by  the  Royal 


39 

Order  above  cited,  which  can  bo  read  from  {)age  94  to  page  96 
of  the  hereto  appended  Testimony. 

15.  When  Governor  Gual  received  this  Royal  Order  he  had 
already,  by  order  of  the  Viceroy,  sent  to  Spain  Engineer  Lara. 
For  this  reason,  the  said  Viceroy,  to  whom  instructions  to  the 
same  effect  as  the  Royal  Order  had  been  transmitted,  decided 
on  August  17, 1756,  to  put  the  work  in  charge  of  Don  Gaspar 
de  Salaverria,  a  military  officer  of  high  rank  (sargento  major) 
of  this  place,  who  was  directed  to  make  at  once  an  estimate  of 
the  amount  of  mone}^  if  any,  which  would  be  required,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  balance  in  hand  and  the  material  not  yet  used. 
This  estimate  having  been  made  and  approved  by  the  Vice- 
roy, the  proper  orders  were  issued  by  him  to  the  Treasury  to 
furnish  the  9,204  dollars  and  1|  reales,  which,  in  addition  to 
the  unexpended  moneys  of  the  first  a{)propriation,  amounting 
to  5,200  dollars  and  6  reales,  and  the  material  not  used  as  yet, 
were  required.  (See  from  page  96  to  page  104  of  the  Testi- 
mony.) 

16.  All  !of  this  having  been  done  and  duly  reported.  Major 
Salaverria  went  to  Guayana,  and  in  the  month  of  February, 
1757,  began  again  to  work  on  the  Fortress,  using  the  same 
foundations  which  Engineer  Lara  had  built.  Governor  Gual 
gave  him,  during  the  whole  period  of  his  government,  all  the 
assistance  he  could,  and  his  successor.  Governor  Don  Nicolas 
de  Castro,  who  received  his  appointment  in  December,  1757, 
did  the  same  thing  until  January,  1759,  when  I  was  appointed 
in  his  place. 

17.  As  soon  as  I  became  acquainted  with  this  business,  I 
wrote  to  Engineer  Salaverria,  urging  him  to  hasten  the  work 
as  much  as  could  be  done  without  interfering  with  its  strength, 
and  with  the  orders  of  both  His  Majesty  the  King  and  the 
Viceroy.  I  told  him  furthermore,  to  keep  me  advised  of 
everything  which  might  happen,  and  to  ask  me  for  such  assist- 
ance as  might  be  required.  This  assistance  I  gave  him  to  the 
full  extent  of  his  wishes,  until  he  wrote  to  me,  wdiile  I  was  at 
Cabrura,  in  the  Boundary  Commission,  that  the  foundations 
of  the  house  had  been  damaged,  to  which  I  replied  what 
seemed  to  me  to  be  just.     Then,  upon  my  return  to  this  capi- 


40 

till,  Salavcrria  came  to  sec  nie,  and  iiilnimed  nie  tliat  tlie  walls 
of  the  Fortress  had  heeu  cracked,  Imt  that  this  aeeideiit  was 
not  serious.  I  thought  tliis  information  imj)ortant  cnougli  to 
cause  an  investigation  to  be  started,  and  ascertain  the  facts  and 
their  exj>lanation,  independently  of  my  going  personally  to 
the  Presidio  and  becoming  accjuainted,  through  my  own  in- 
spection, with  the  defects  of  the  work.  So  it  was  done,  and 
on  the  20th  of  December,  1760,  I  submitted  to  His  Majesty 
the  result  of  the  investicration.  The  same  information  was 
transmitted  by  me,  at  the  same  time,  to  the  Viceroy,  who,  on 
the  23d  of  June,  1701,  approved  my  action,  and  dircctcil  me 
to  await  the  decision  of  His  Miijesty. 

18.  Tlie  King,  by  Royal  order  of  October  7th,  '07,  transmit- 
ted to  me  by  Your  Excellency,  was  please<l  to  api)rove  the  sus- 
pension of  the  work  until  I  ct)uld  make  the  ])romised  visit  to 
the  fort  and  i'e])oi't  about  its  condition.  The  lioyal  oi'der  fur- 
ther said  that  it  had  been  deemed  advisable  to  cause  the  works 
to  be  inspected  also  by  the  engineer  of  Caracas,  and  that 
instructions  to  that  effect  had  been  sent  to  the  Gdvernor  of 
the  Province  last  named. 

10.  When  I  received  this  Royal  order,  I  had  already  made 
the  visit  to  which  it  refers,  examined  the  fortress,  made  an  in- 
vestigation, additional  and  supplementary  to  the  former  one, 
and  fully  ascertained  that  tlu'  ruin  nf  the  fortress  was  inevit- 
able and  impending.  For  these  I'casons,  and  acting  in  con- 
formity with  a  re})ort  of  Juan  Parrilla,  an  architect,  or  builder, 
who  assured  me,  upon  some  gi-oumls  which  I  shall  set  forth  here- 
after when  explaining  the  present  state  of  the  fortifications  of 
(luayana,  that  the  evil  was  irremedialde,  I  .sent  a  full  report 
to  His  Majesty,  dateil  Sej)temi)er  23,  1701.  A  copy  of  this 
report  and  of  all  the  jxipers  therein  referred  to  was  also  sent  to 
the  Viceroy,  on  the  28th  of  February,  '02.  The  Viceroy  said 
to  me  in  reply,  July  30th,  to  wait  for  the  decision  which  Plis 
Majesty  might  be  pleased  to  give  upon  examination  of  the 
papers  submitted  by  me  and  of  the  re[)ort  of  the  Caracas  engi- 
neer, whom  the  Viceroy  suppo.sed  to  be  at  the  Fort  doing  his 
work  of  inspection.  Ihit  the  engineer  never  went  there,  owing 
on  the  one  si<le  to  the  war  which  had  just  broken  out  and  re- 


41 

quired  liis  presence  at  Caracas,  and  on  the  other  side  to  an 
attack  of  gout,  which  at  hist  cuhiiinated  in  his  death. 

20.  During  the  month  of  April  of  the  present  year  I  received 
a  Royal  order,  transmitted  by  Your  Excellency,  dated  May  27, 
1762,  a  copy  of  which  is  to  be  found  at  the  beginning  of  the 
testimony  hereto  appended,  in  whicli  His  Majesty  was  pleased 
to  command,  among  other  things,  that  an  armour  should  be 
built  all  around  the  walls  of  Fort  Limones,  at  a  distance  of 
nine  feet,  and  penetrating  into  the  ground  to  a  depth  of  four 
feet  lower  than  the  foundations;  that  the  earthworks  which 
are  now  at  this  Fort  should  be  raised  so  as  to  make  them  two 
and  a  half  feet  higher;  that  the  proper  number  of  portholes 
should  be  open  on  the  walls  for  the  use  of  the  artillery,  the  said 
portholes  to  be  provided  with  ports;  that  the  whole  building 
of  the  fort  should  be  roofed  with  a  flat  roof,  provided  with  as 
many  skylights  as  might  be  necessary  to  give  light  to  the  build- 
ing, and  fixed  in  such  a  way  as  to  allow  the  sentinels  freely  to 
communicate  with  each  other;  that  the  artillery  of  the  fort 
should  consist  of  four  guns,  two  of  them  8-inch  guns,  to 
prevent  an  attack  from  the  water  side,  and  the  two  others 
4-inch  guns,  to  prevent  an  attack  from  land  ;  and  that  four 
swivel  guns  should  also  be  mounted  on  tlie  flat  roof.  These 
provisions,  as  well  as  others  of  the  Royal  order,  have  given 
occasion  to  this  Report. 

The  particulars  above  stated  show  what  the  condition  of  this 
work,  commenced  in  1694,  is  at  present.  They  show  also  that 
we  are  confronted  with  the  inevitable  necessity  of  abandoning 
the  said  fort,  for  the  reasons  which  will  be  explained  in  the 
second  and  the  third  parts  of  this  Report. 


Chapter  VII. 

Progress  made  in  the  Province  of  Guayana  from  the   year  1720 
to  the  present  year  1763. 

1.  The  deplorable  condition,  already  described,  of  the  Pre- 
sidio and  Province  of  Guayana,  in  1720,  remained  unchanged 
until  1734,  when  Don  Carlos  Sucre  decided  to  go  there.     He  took 


42 

Avitli  liiiii  three  uuiil)oats,  a  iiuinher  of  troojis.  j>ieke(l  u{)  I'roni 
the  garrison  ot"  Arayii,  and  several  civilians  who  had  a(2,reed  to 
go  and  settle  there  as  vcciiws  (sui'hurhan  residents);  and  after 
exploring  thoroughly  the  Faxardo  Island  and  the  Angostura 
of  the  Orinoco,  and  making  to  His  Majesty  a  full  re})ort  of  his 
work,  he  engaged  himself,  while  waiting  for  the  Koyal  answer, 
in  repairing  the  huildings  and  improving  the  condition  of  the 
Presidio  and  the  Province.  He  ordered  the  thick  forests 
which  surrounded  the  settlement  to  be  cleared,  and  caused 
new  houses  to  be  built  for  the  accommodation  of  the  new  in- 
habitants and  the  troops.  He  rebuilt,  as  far  as  tlie  funds  at 
his  (bsposal  could  permit,  tlie  San  Francisco  Castle.  He 
opened  communication  l)y  land,  u])  to  this  time  never  thought 
of,  between  the  Provinces  of  Cumana  and  Barcelona.  He 
made  several  preparations  to  pursue  the  Dutch  and  other 
foreigners,  who  in  union  with  the  Caribbean  Indians  used 
to  raid  the  said  Provinces  and  the  Orinoco  River,  and 
ejected  from  the  mouths  of  that  river  and  the  Barima  channel 
the  Swedes  who  had  attempted  to  settle  at  that  place.  All 
of  this  is  shown  l)y  the  General  Ma})  and  tfie  two  Ro3'al 
Letters  from  pages  Ki  and  the  following  up  to  i)age  19  of  the 
Testimony.  He  assisted  the  Missions  of  the  Catalonian 
Caj^ucins,  which  had  commenced  their  work  since  1724.  And 
tinally,  he  took  many  other  measures  which  rendered  the 
condition  of  (iuayana  more  tolerable. 

Sucre  remained  there  until  the  month  of  .Tune,  '40,  when  he 
came  back  to  the  caiiital  of  Cumana.  and  resigned  his  com- 
mand into  the  hands  of  his  successor,  ( iovernor  Don  CJregorio 
de  Espinosa. 

2.  During  the  month  of  December  of  the  same  year,  '40,  the 
Presidio  was  surjmsed  i)y  the  attack  of  an  English  corsair, 
who  took  po.sscssion  of  the  hill,  and  succeeded  with  the  fire  of 
his  iiiuskets  in  driving  away  from  the  San  Francisco  Castle 
the  few  men  who  t"ornie(l  its  garrison,  and  taking  possession  of 
it.  Soon  afterwards  the  I'Jiglisli  made  an  attack  against  the 
town,  which  they  plundereil.  They  burnt  all  the  houses  and 
sent  a  detachment  to  tin-  nearest  Missions,  which  they  also 
■destroyed  by  lire.     They  di<l    all   the   harm   they  could  to  the 


43 

►^an  Francisco  Castle,  and  then  they  embarked  and  set  sail. 
This  unexpected  event  caused  the  Indians  of  certain  vihages 
•to  rise  up  in  arms  against  us  ;  but  they  were  pacified  and  in- 
duced again  to  leave  the  woods  and  settle  in  villages  as  before. 
'This  result  was  due  to  the  measures  taken  by  Governor  Espi- 
nosa,  who  put  Don  Antonio  Jordan,  an  officer  of  the  Engineer 
•Corps,  in  command  of  the  Presidio,  and  sent  there  from  Bar- 
celona a  detachment  of  the  militia  of  that  Province. 

3.  Upon  Jordan's  arrival  at  the  Presidio,  and  as  soon  as  the 
■pacification  of  the  Indians  was  accomplished,  work  was  begun 
in  earnest  to  build  the  town  on  the  site  where  it  now  stands, 
as  appears  from  Figure  No.  2  on  the  map.  In  this  work  Jordan 
was  aided  by  the  old  settlers  and  soldiers  who  had  survived  the 
•attack  and  taken  refuge  in  the  mountains.  But  not  much 
could  be  done  then,  owing  to  the  death  of  Engineer  Jordan, 
which  occurred  in  September,  '41,  the  dispersion  of  some  of  the 
old  settlers,  the  death  of  some  others  and  the  extreme  destitu- 
tion in  which  the  balance  of  the  inhabitants  of  that  locality 
was  left.  No  particular  improvement  was  noticed  during  the 
whole  of  Governor  Espinosa's  command. 

4.  During  tlie  administration  of  Governor  Don  Diego  Tava- 
res,  the  building  of  the  San  Fernando  Fort  was  begun,  as  I 
have  already  said  ;  the  Fortress  of  San  Diego,  or  El  Padrastro, 
was  completed ;  and  the  damage  done  by  the  Indians  in  the 
•San  Francisco  Castle  was  repaired. 

5.  Governors  Don  Matheo  Gual,  Don  Nicolas  de  Castro,  and 
myself  have  done  our  utmost,  taking  into  consideration  the 
defenseless  state  of  the  Presidio,  and  stretched  our  powers 
to  the  farthest  limit,  in  order  to  restore  what  had  been  de- 

:stroyed,  and  to  place  that  most  important  point  in  the  condi- 
tion in  which  it  is  now.  We  have  succeeded  in  inducing  some 
people  to  go  and  settle  there.  We  have  assisted  them  to  build 
their  houses,  one  near  the  other,  in  the  good  order  which  may 
be  noticed  on  Figure  No.  2  of  the  map  hereto  appended.  We 
have  cleared  all  the  woods  around  the  settlement.  We  have 
built  kilns,  and  established  brick  and  tile  manufactories,  pro- 
vided with  the  proper  sheds  where  the  manufactured  articles 
-as  well   as  the  material  for   their   construction  is  protected 


44 

auaiiist  tlie  ln'avy  rains  of  the  couiitry.  We  have  rej)aired  the- 
fortilications  ami  put  the  ^an  Francisco  Castle  in  condition  to 
defend  itself.  We  have  completed  the  garrison  of  the  Presidio,. 
\v  1 1  i<  h  a  1 1  h  ()U  gh  consisting  of  ni  uhittoes,  half  breeds,  a  nd  negroes, 
with  only  a  few  wliites,  was  never  as  numerous  and  as  capable 
to  inspire  the  Caribbean  Indians  with  respect,  and  to  prevent 
the  foreigners  from  navigating  the  Orinoco  as  freely  as  they 
formerly  used  to  do.  At  jtresent  they  do  not  dare  venture 
beyond  the  Presidio,  because  owing  to  the  sul)jection  of  the 
Indians  they  are  unable  to  get  pilots  or  guides.  All  those 
who  have  attempted  to  pass  that  limit  have  been  either  ar- 
rested or  put  to  flight.  The  all'airs  of  the  Koyal  Treasury  have 
been  put  in  good  order  ;  the  keeping  of  the  accounts  has  been 
organized  in  proper  form;  and  measures  have  been  taken  to 
enable  its  head  to  furnish  annually  a  sum  of  money,  which, 
although  small,  is  sufficient  to  keep  the  fortifications  in  good 
repair,  and  to  provide  them  with  the  necessary  ordnance  and 
ammunition,  a  state  of  things  never  witnessed  before,  when  the 
expenses  had  to  be  met  with  funds  received  from  outside  sources. 
The  Missions  in  charge  of  the  Catalonian  Capucins  have  been 
assisted.  The  Caribbean  Indians  and  the  Dutch  who,  by  way 
of  the  Cuyuni  and  Ma/.aroni  Rivers,  and  on  the  rear  of  the 
said  Missions,  had  attempt(,'(l  to  wage  hostilities  against  them, 
have  been  driven  away  and  {)ursued.  Troops  have  been  sent 
against  tliese  enemies,  and  a  fortified  house,  built  by  the  Dutch 
on  the  banks  of  the  Cuyuni  river,  where  the}'  had  gathered  all 
the  Indians  of  other  tribes  captured  by  the  Caribbeans  and  sold 
to  them  for  mere  trifles,  was  assaulted  and  taken.  A  number  of 
fire  ai'ins  was  found  in  that  house,  and  a  Dutchman,  wlio  was 
a  miner  by  occupation,  ami  ha<l  undoubtedly  come  there  to 
make  mining  explorations  and  surveys,  was  also  found  and 
captured.  The  testimony  apt)cnded  to  this  Report  contains  from 
})age  105  to  ])age  140  a  full  statement  of  these  facts,  together 
with  a  (•()py  of  the  (-urri'iit  aci-ouiit  which  the  Dutch  kept  with 
the  Caribl)ean  Indians,  and  the  pr()[)er  notice  of  the  death  of 
two  men  of  that  ex})edition. 

The  progress  shown  by  the  above  to  have  taken  place  in  the 
Province  and  Presidio  of  Guayana  is  of  great  importance.     The 


45 

•condition  of  the  one  and  the  other  in  1734  was  miserable.  It 
was  just  as  bad,  if  not  worse,  in  1740,  after  the  attack  of  the  Pre- 
sidio and  the  burning  of  the  town.  But  now  (17G3),  altliough 
not  flourishing  enough  to  justify  the  statement  that  the  Pre- 
sidio can  defend  itself  against  enemies,  it  can  be  deemed  suffi- 
cient to  secure  the  respect  of  all  foreigners  and  prevent  them 
from  engaging  in  unlawful  trade.  All  of  this  will  be  shown 
still  more  in  full  in  other  parts  of  this  Report. 


ChaDter  VIIl. 

The  fact  that  the  Dutch  have  not  settled  in  tJie  central  part  of  the 
Province  of  Guayana,  and  all  the  j^t^ogress  made  at  the 
Presidio,  are  due  to  the  Mission  of  the  Catalonian  Capucins. 
The  Presidio  can  not  stand  without  the  3Iission,  nor  can  the 
Mission  stand  ivithout  the  Presidio. 

1.  As  the  Aragonese  Capucins  and  the  Franciscan  Fathers  of 
Piritu  pacified  the  Provinces  of  Cumana  and  Barcelona  where 
they  are  engaged  in  evangelical  labors,  they  having  been  in- 
strumental to  the  settlement  by  Spanish  people  of  the  vast 
territories  of  said  Provinces,  and  to  the  foundation  of  the  town 
of  Aragua,  and  the  villages  of  Concepcion  del  Pao,  Rio  Caribe 
and  Carupano,  as  stated  in  the  proper  place,  so  also  the 
Catalonian  Capucins  who  came  to  the  Province  of  Guayana, 
pacified  its  Indians;  reduced  to  subjection  a  great  number  of 
them  ;  prevented  the  Dutch  from  settling  in  the  interior  oi'  the 
Province  ;  assisted  the  Presidio  and  city  of  Santo  Thome ; 
caused  things  there  to  have  reached  the  state  in  which  they 
are  now ;  closed  the  Orinoco  to  the  inhuman  commerce  of  the 
•Caribbean  Indians  and  of  the  Dutch  ;  prevented  the  latter  as 
well  as  other  foreigners  from  running  through  the  country, 
freely,  as  they  used  to  do  in  former  times  in  the  Provinces  of 
Cumana,  Barcelona,  Caracas,  Varinas  and  Santa  Fe ;  did  what 
never  could  have  been  done  before  in  spite  of  the  measures  taken 
ever  since  1694 ;  caused  the  Presidio  to  be  a  serious  establish- 
ment ;  improved  the  fortifications  of  the  same ;  secured  thereby 


46 

the  settlement  and  population  of  the  Province;  established 
sixteen  Missions  ;  and  I'ounded,  eight  leagues  towards  the  in- 
terior, th(^  new  town  of  San  Antonio  de  Upata,  which  will  here- 
after secure  resi)ect  to  those  places. 

2.  In  Note  No.  10  of  the  Book  of  Notes,  I  stated  that  the 
above-named  Catalonian  missionaries  began  to  work  success- 
fully in  1724,  and  I  exi)lained  the  reasons  why  neither  they 
nor  any  other  missionaries  have  been  able  to  do  anything  of 
im])ortance.  I  said  that  in  the  year  above-mentioned,  those 
I-'athers  founded  a  Mission,  which  was  the  fir.st,  and  which  they 
named  "  J.a  Concepcion  del  Suay."  I  also  stated  that  at  the 
time  of  my  visit  the  number  of  the  Missions  founded  b}'  them 
had  grown  u[)  to  sixteen,  without  counting  eiglit  more,  which 
had  been  founded  during  the  same  intervening  ])eriod,  but 
had  been  disorganized  and  disbanded.  And  I  gave  further- 
more a  detailed  explanation  of  the  condition  in  which  the  said 
Missions  were  at  the  time  of  ray  visit,  and  of  the  causes  which 
had  produced  the  loss  of  the  establishments  of  the  same  kind 
which  had  been  ruined.  As  all  this  is  shown  by  the  hereto 
appended  Testimony,  from  [)age  141  to  page  149,  I  will  not 
dwell  any  longer  in  discussing  this  subject. 

3.  In  said  Note  No.  10,  as  well  as  in  Note  No.  8,  of  the  same 
Book  of  Notes,  I  insisted  upon  the  vast  iiii})()rtance  of  these 
Missions,  l)oth  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  the  Dutch  from 
reaching  the  interior  of  the  country,  l)y  way  of  the  Cuyuni  and 
the  Mazaroni  Rivers,  the  position  of  which  can  be  learned  by 
looking  at  the  General  Map,  and  of  [irotecting  the  Presidio, 
to  which  they  furnish  provisions,  and  the  number  of  Indians 
needed  to  man  the  ships  et\gaged  in  trade  at  that  place,  and 
to  do  such  other  works,  pul)lic  as  well  as  private,  as  may  be- 
come necessary. 

(_)n  the  other  hand,  while  it  is  true  that  without  the  Mis- 
sions the  Presidio  call  not  be  luaiiitaineil,  it  is  likewise  true 
that  witliout  the  l-*residio  the  Missions  themselves  would  go  to 
ruin.     This  is  the  ])oint  which  I  shall  endeavor  to  prove. 

4.  The  growth  of  the  I'icsidio  and  the  fact  that  its  establish- 
ment has  Ijecome  day  by  day  more  permanent  and  important, 
have  permitted  it  to  provide  the  missionaries  with  such  escort 


47 

as  they  needed  to  continue  their  explorations  southwards,  and 
found,  among  others,  such  villages  as  El  Nato,  El  Yuruario, 
and  Ave  Chica,  the  latter  at  about  40  or  45  leagues  from  the 
Presidio,  all  of  them  on  the  banks  of  rivers  which  empty  into 
the  Cuyuni,  as  can  be  seen  in  tlie  C^eneral  Map.  By  means  of 
these  Missions,  serving  as  advance  posts,  the  Dutch  and  their 
assistants,  the  Caribbean  Indians,  have  been  prevented,  to  a 
great  extent,  from  reaching  the  interior  of  the  country  through 
the  Cuyuni  and  the  Mazaroni  Rivers,  committing  acts  of 
hostilit}^,  kidnapping  Indians,  not  belonging  to  the  Caribbean 
tribe,  and  starting  some  settlements  of  their  own  in  the  center 
of  this  Province.  Several  expeditions,  the  last  of  which  was 
organized  in  1758,  have  been  fitted  out,  at  diverse  periods,  to 
frustrate  those  invasions.  The  expedition  last  mentioned  suc- 
ceeded, as  before  stated,  in  possessing  itself  of  the  fortified 
place  which  the  invaders  had  built  on  the  banks  of  the 
Cuyuni  River,  which  fact  had  been  re[)orted  by  the  mission- 
aries, upon  information  furnished  them  by  the  Indians  in- 
liabiting  villages  in  the  neighborhood  of  said  river.  All  of 
this  is  fully  proved  by  the  hereto  appended  Testimony  from 
page  105  to  page  140.  It  is  self-evident,  according  to  that 
Testimony,  that  it  is  a  matter  of  vital  importance  to  continue 
these  Missions  southwards,  and  to  likewiee  establish  in  that 
direction,  on  the  most  fertile  plains  of  the  central  part  of  that 
Province,  as  many  towns  and  villages  as  may  be  possible. 
To  secure  this  most  desirable  result,  it  is  indispensable  that 
the  Missionary  Fathers  be  given  assistance  which  I  explained 
to  His  Majesty,  when  I  gave  an  account  of  the  general  visit,. 
and  is  stated  from  page  251  to  page  252  on  the  Testiinony. 
There  is  no  other  way  to  check  the  Dutch,  and  prevent  them 
from  making  settlements,  as  they  attempt  to  do,  in  the  section 
of  the  country  aforesaid,  which,  although  unexplored,  is 
watched  by  the  neighboring  towns  and  villages,  and  kept 
under  the  vigilant  eyes  of  the  missionaries,  who  can  report  at 
once  to  the  Presidio  anything  which  happens. 

5.  When  in  the  year  1724  the  first  Mission,  namely,  the  Mis- 
sion of  La  Concepcion  del  Suay,  was  established,  the  Presidio 
found  itself  in  the  same  wretched  condition  in  which  it  was  in 


48 

1720.  It  continued  in  the  same  state  until  1734,  wlien  Don 
Carlos  Sucre  visited  it,  and  directed,  among  many  other  useful 
things,  that  the  missionaries  should  lie  jiroviiK-d  with  an  escort, 
as  strung  as  could  he  gathered  there,  and  with  such  ahundant 
supplies  as  could  he  ol)tained,  in  order  to  enahle  them  to  con- 
tinue their  march  toward  the  interior  of  the  country.  The 
result  of  this  measure  was  that  the  Missionary  Fathers  could, 
as  they  went  farther  on  in  their  explorations,  estahlish  on  fer- 
tile lands  the  two  new  Missions  of  "  San  Francisco  de  Alta- 
gracia"  and  "The  Divine  Shepherdess,"  and  continue  and 
properly  su})port  the  other  four  Missions  which  they  had 
already  foundecl  in  the  immediate  neighhorhood  of  the 
Orinoco  River,  on  lands  rather  sandy  and  of  little  fertility. 

G.  After  the  estahlishment  of  the  two  new  Missions  above 
named,  and  others  which  were  founded  afterwards,  the  Indians 
who  had  settled  in  them  began,  under  the  care  of  the  mis- 
sionaries, to  cultivate  the  land  on  a  larger  scale,  and  reap 
therefore  larger  crops  than  were  required  for  the  support  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  towns  and  villages.  The  surplus  was 
then,  as  it  is  still,  given  to  the  Presidio,  and  it  can  be  said, 
safely,  that  without  this  assistance  it  would  have  been  impos- 
sible for  the  Presidio  to  support  the  people  which  live  in  it. 
Nor  would  it  have  been  possible  for  the  people  who  were  en- 
gaged in  commercial  trade  in  the  region  of  the  Orinoco  to 
carry  on  their  business  with  as  much  facility  as  they  can  do  at 
present,  ha(l  it  not  been  for  the  fact  that  at  the  Presidio  they 
can  find  abundant  provision  of  casabe  and  other  .supplies  sent 
there  by  the  missionaries.  Should  the  Missions  fail  at  any 
time  to  furnish  this  assistance,  the  inhabitants  of  the  Presidio 
would  certainly  starve.  Supplies  from  other  sources  would  be 
very  costly,  and  only  to  be  obtained  at  very  distant  places. 

7.  The  provisions  with  which  the  Presidio  is  daily  supj)lied 
consist  of  casabe,  corn,  rice,  fruit,  and  poultry.  All  the  soap 
consumed  at  the  Presidio  is  also  given  to  it.  But  all  of  this  is 
furnished,  not  by  all  the  villages,  but  only  by  four  or  five 
out  of  their  number,  which  are  surrounded  by  fertile  lands, 
and  are  inhabited  by  Indians  already  civilized  and  educated, 
-whose  effects  are  managed  by  the  missionaries  with  great  order 


49 

and  economy.  These  natives  are,  therefore,  well  dressed  and 
supplied  with  everything  necessary,  including  tools  and  imple- 
ments for  agricultural  and  other  purposes.  Some  other  Mis- 
sions might  be  able  to  do  the  same  as  the  five  just  referred  to, 
because  of  their  enjoying  identical  advantages  as  to  the 
fertility  of  the  land ;  but  so  far  they  are  prevented  from  con- 
tributing, as  explained,  owing  to  the  recent  date  of  their  foun- 
dation, to  the  fact  that  the  Indians  who  have  settled  in  them 
are  not  as  yet  fully  accustomed  to  work,  to  the  great  di--tance 
which  separates  them  from  the  Presidio,  which,  together  with 
the  difficulty  of  communication,  increases  the  cost  of  transpor- 
tation, and  deters  the  Presidio  from  looking  to  them  for  its 
supplies,  except  in  case  of  extreme  necessity. 

8.  The  Missions  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Orinoco  can  not 
furnish  anything  to  the  Presidio,  owing  to  their  being  located 
on  sandy  ground,  of  no  fertility  at  all,  and  to  the  fact  that 
their  inhabitants,  as  I  have  said  in  Note  No.  10,  above  cited, 
are  rather  fishermen  than  agriculturists. 

9.  The  provisions  furnished  by  the  five  villages  above  re- 
ferred to  are  not  given  in  excessive  abundance;  but  they  are 
sufficient  for  the  support  of  the  garrison  and  of  the  inhabitants, 
not  many  in  number,  of  the  place,  and  for  supplying  what  is 
necessary  to  the  small  ships  which  are  engaged  in  the  trading 
business  of  the  locality,  or  which  occasionally  arrive  at  the 
Presidio.  This  sufficiency,  however,  is  very  apt  to  disappear, 
from  the  very  moment  in  which  scarcity  is  felt,  in  any  of  the 
five  villages  above  referred  to,  whether  on  account  of  bad 
crops  due  to  climaterical  conditions  or  to  the  failure  to  pay 
proper  attention  to  the  agricultural  labors.  The  ftict  that  the 
Indians  are  sometimes  withdrawn  from  the  fields  and  taken  to 
the  ships  to  man  them,  or  to  some  town  or  village  or  else- 
where to  work,  to  build  houses  or  other  edifices,  as  well  as 
roads,  etc, — a  work  which  no  other  Indians  less  civilized  can 
ao — is  often  the  cause  of  great  distress  in  the  Presidio.  This 
lacking  of  the  necessary  provisions  is  not  at  tlie  Presidio  a 
very  remote  accident.  It  is  on  the  contrary  a  matter  of  very 
frequent  occurrence.  During  my  own  term  of  office  it  has  hap- 
pened three  times,  one  of  them,  namely,  in  the  year  17G2,  when 

Vol.  I,  Ven.— 4 


50 

tlie  distress  was  such  as  to  cause  me  to  feel  extremely  uneasy, 
all  the  efforts  of  the  officer  comniandino;  the  Presidio,  of  the 
Prefect  of  the  Missions,  and  of  myself  having  failed  to  secure 
an  extra  supply  of  one  liumlrcil  loads  of  casabe,  to  be  ke[)t  in 
store  and  meet  any  future  einergt  ney,  as  an  invasion  of  the 
place,  or  any  other  accident.  Should  the  |)Iaec  havt'  Ijeen  in- 
vaded, as  it  was  very  near  to  liai»[)en,  it  would  liave  been  very 
difficult  for  it  to  resist  the  enemy,  owing  to  the  lack  of  provi- 
sions. It  is  shown  from  page  15>0  to  page  lOH  of  the  Testimony 
hereto  appended  that  the  scarcity  of  tiie  said  provisions  is 
daily  felt  at  the  Presidio.  Further  evidence  of  this  fact  might 
easily  have  been  produced,  but  T  have  decided  to  omit  it,  in 
order  not  to  increase  uimecessarily  the  voliinie  of  the  said 
Testimony.  All  this  proves  how  im]»ortant  it  is  for  the  Presidio 
that  the  Missions  be  caused  to  reach  a  state  as  flourishing  as 
possible ;  and  it  proves  also,  as  I  shall  explain  more  in  full  in 
Part  Second  of  this  R9[)ort,  that  the  insufficient  supply  of  pro- 
visions to  be  so  far  obtained  from  the  Missions  precludes  the 
Royal  Order  of  May  '11 ,  for  the  transfer  of  the  city  to  the  [dace 
called  "La  Angostui-a,"  from  being  carried  into  effect. 

10.  But  while  it  is  true  that  the  said  Missions  are  of  extreme 
importance  to  the  Presidio,  on  account  of  the  provisions  which 
they  supply  to  it,  this  is  not  the  only  cause  which  makes  the 
existence  and  progress  of  the  Presidio  dej)endent  upon  the 
existence  and  progress  of  the  Missions.  All  the  works  of  all 
kinels  undertaken  at  the  Presidio,  which  are  nunierous,  and 
require  on  some  occisions  a  long  period  of  time  to  be  finished, 
have  been  and  are  undertaken  and  completed  with  the  laboi- 
of  Indians  supplie^l  b}'  the  Missions.  These  Indians  have;  re- 
]»airiil  the  fortilieatioiis  :  they  have  built  the  San  l'\'rnando 
Castle  ;  they  have  made  the  bric-ksand  the  lime,  and  |)repared 
all  other  materials  necessary  for  these  works.  They  al.so  man 
the  shi[is  wiiii  li  necessarily  have  to  be  fitted  out  and 
e(iuip[)ed  tor  the  necessities  tif  the  service,  as  for  instance 
the  government  vessel  which  yearly  goes  to  Santa  Fe,  and 
the  tw(i  barges  which  iluriiig  the  whole  of  last  3'ear, 
owing  to  the  state  ol  war,  were  stationed  at  the  princi[)al 
mouths  of  the  Orinoco,  to  watch,  and   re[)ort  at  once,   should 


51 

any  vessel  or  vessels  be  discovered  by  them  to  try  to  enter 
the  river,  in  order  to  avoid  surprises.  All  of  this  is  shown 
by  Chapter  V  of  the  Instruction  given  by  me  to  the  com- 
manding officer  of  the  Presidio,  Don  Juan  de  Dios  Valdes, 
wherein  I  explained  to  him  what  had  to  be  done  to  defend 
and  preserve  the  Presidio  should  it  be  attacked.  Said  Instruc- 
tion is  to  be  found  from  page  177  to  page  186  of  the  hereto 
appended  Testimony. 

11.  It  must  be  noticed,  owing  to  its  importance  for  the  proper 
understanding  of  what  will  be  said  in  Part  Second  of  this  Re- 
port, that  it  is  extremely  difficult  for  the  Missions  to  supply 
these  Indian  laborers.  They  do  not  leave  their  villages,  ex- 
cept very  reluctantly,  and  if,  once  at  the  Presidio,  they  are  not 
treated  kindly,  there  is  no  way  to  keep  them  there.  At  the 
very  first  opportunity  which  presents  itself  to  them  they  run 
away  and  take  refuge  in  the  woods.  Only  in  a  few  cases  they 
come  back  to  their  villages.  And  as  a  general  rule,  no  matter 
how  good  the  treatment  of  these  Indians  may  be,  it  is  always 
impossible  to  keep  them  at  work  for  more  than  eight  days.  It 
was  with  extreme  difficulty  that  the  barges  above  referred  to 
could  be  kept  with  the  proper  crew. 

12.  Another  thing  to  be  taken  into  consideration  is  the  small 
number  of  Indian  laborers  which  can  be  furnished  conveni- 
ently to  do  this  work,  owing  to  the  great  distance  between 
most  of  the  Missions  and  the  Presidio,  as  can  be  easily  seen  upon 
inspection  of  the  General  Map,  and  also  to  the  fact,  well  shown 
by  the  hereto  appended  Testimony,  that  a  large  proportion  of 
the  Indians  gathered  within  the  Missions  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of  the  Presidio  are  still  heathens.     Hence,  it  is, 
that  the  five  Missions,  whose  inmates,  as  above  said,  are  fully 
Christianized,  are  the  only  ones  called  upon  to  furnish  laborers, 
as  well   as  the  provisions,  without  which   the  Presidio  could 
not  be  ke[)t  in  existence.     It  is  plain  that  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil,  and  the  raising  of  the  crops,  which  are  primary  objects, 
because  without  them  no  food  could  be  obtained,  has  to  be 
abandoned,  or  neglected,  or  conducted  on  a  lesser  scale,  if  the 
Indian  laborers  are  taken  away  from  the  fields  and  compelled 


£2 

to  do  tlie  other  work  which   is  iiientioiuil    in    Part  Second  of 
this  Report. 

13.  Bat,  iftiie  Missions  aiv  absolutely  indis])cnsahlc  for  the 
preservation  of  the  Presidio,  the  Presidio  is  also  indispensable, 
as  has  been  stated,  for  the  presei'vation  of  th(^  Missions.  The 
hitter  would  be  disorganized  and  disbanded  if  the  Presidio 
would  not  give  them  some  protection.  This  is  the  I'cason  why 
most  of  the  Missions  are  new  and  inhabited  by  Indians  who 
did  not  leave  the  woods  but  very  recently,  and  feel  more  in- 
clination to  their  old  -^vay  of  living  than  to  the  present  one. 
Were  it  not  for  the  respect  and  fear  with  which  tlie  troops  of 
the  Presidio  inspire  them,  it  is  probable  that  they  would  go 
back  to  the  woods,  or  engage  in  wrongful  acts.  The  presence 
of  these  troops  is  very  necessary,  as  the  Indians  are  used  to  see 
their  prompt  arrival  at  the  places  where  public  order  and 
peace  have  l)cen  disturbed,  and  their  efticiency  in  putting  an 
end  to  the  upi'isings.  The  need  of  this  assistance  is  felt  more 
especially  at  those  Missions  wdiose  inhabitants  belong  to  the 
Caribbean  race,  and  are  by  nature  haughty,  unruly  and  apt  to 
rebel.  The  Testimony  hereto  appended  shows  what  the  lessons 
of  experience  in  this  respect  have  been ;  and  it  is  clear  that  if 
■for  some  unfortunate  circumstances  the  Presidio  is  attacked 
by  the  enemies  of  the  Royal  Crown  and  falls  into  their  hands, 
the  Missions  would  at  once  ])o  destroyed.  Their  own  inhabit- 
ants would  plunder  them,  and  after  liurning  tiiem  to  the 
ground  would  return  to  the  forests.  That  was  the  lesson  of 
1740.  in  which  the  Indians  did  inueh  nioi'e  harm  than  the 
Englisii.  From  liere  it  is  to  be  concluded  that  even  in  case 
that  the  Presidio  would  l)e  jiroducive  of  no  other  advantage 
than  being  instrumental  to  the  preservation  of  the  Missions,  it 
should  be  entitled  to  receive  the  most  serious  attention.  But 
this  is  not  the  only  reason  whicli  makes  it  deserving  of  that 
attention.  It  will  be  shown  by  tiiis  Report  that  the  safety  of 
all  these  Provinces  depends  upon  the  preservation  in  good 
order  of  the  said  Presidio,  and  that  without  it,  neither  could 
any  new  Mission  be  established  farther  on  in  the  country,  nor 
could  the  old  ones  be  preserved  on  account  of  the  warlike, 
traitorous  and  ferocious  disposition  of  the  Caribbean  Indians. 


53 


Chapter   IX. 

Present  condition  of  the  fort ijicat ions  and  defences  of  the  city  of 
Santo  Thome  of  Guciyana  and  the  Spanish  settlement  of  this 
Province,  udiere  a  difference  is  found  from  what  it  was  at  the 
time  of  the  visit. 

1.  By  the  ninth  note  of  this  memorandum,  and  in  reference 
to  the  proceedings  of  the  general  visit,  I  gave  a  condensed 
account  of  the  defences  of  Guayana,  its  fortifications,  military 
garrisons,  salaries  paid  and  funds  assigned  to  the  same, 
militia,  population,  families,  houses  contained  in  the  city 
and  plantations  owned  by  the  neighbors,  condition  of  the 
church,  ministers  serving  it,  and  what  is  known  of  the  settle- 
ment of  the  so-called  cities  "  Real  Corona  "  and  "  Ciudad  Real," 
and  the  circumstances  which  seem.ed  to  me  sufficient  at  that 
time,  not  dealing  then  with  the  present  subject ;  but  to-day  it 
is  indispensable  to  extend  them  more  in  detail  as  I  will  express 
them  to  show,  on  the  second  part,  the  irreparable  injury, 
excessive  disbursements  and  extreme  difficulties  brought  about 
by  the  practical  enforcement  of  tlie  Royal  Order  for  the  trans- 
fer of  the  city  to  the  Angostura. 

2.  And  to  make  it  more  clearly  understood,  as  the  subject 
requires  it,  I  will  follow  the  same  method  of  the  above  ninth 
note. 

3.  I  said  then:  that  the  defences  and  city  of  Santo  Thome  are 
situated  at  eight  degrees  seventeen  minutes  north  latitude  and  three 
hundred  and  fourteen  degrees  seventeen  m^inutes  and  a  half  longi- 
tude. ■  I  have  nothing  to  add  on  this  point.  I  said  likewise  that 
it  was  the  capital  and  only  settlement  of  this  unhioivn  Province ; 
not  considering  as  cities  those  of  Real  Corona  and  Ciudad 
Real,  for  the  reasons  I  exposed  in  the  last  chapters  of  the  ninth 
and  tenth  notes,  and  here  I  will  slmw  likewise  that  after  said 
visit,  and  without  any  cost  to  the  King,  the  new  population 
of  San  Antonio  of  Upata  has  been  founded,  being  situated 
inland,  at  a  distance  of  eight  leagues  from  the  fortress  and 
between  the  Missions  of  Alta  Gracia  and  Copapui,  as  shown 
by  the  general  map,  that  I  will  explain  in  due  time. 


54 

4.  1  said  likt'wiso :  lliat  the  tt'iiijx'i'atiire  ol'  the  fortress  is 
(lamp  and  warm,  very  insalubrious  and  the  soil  far  Irom  ier- 
tile,  as  it  is  sandy  and  not  different  from  the  rest  of  that  of 
the  banks  of  the  Orinoco,  that  overflowing  the  same  occasion- 
ally forms  large  deposits  of  water  or  lagoons,  which  forming 
thick  woods  very  close  and  with  the  heat  of  the  climate  raise 
maglignant  va[)ors,  infecting  the  air  and  ]>roducing  dense 
clouds  of  mc)S(juit(tes,  horse  ilies  and  insects,  making  the  mar- 
gins of  the  Orinoco  liai'dly  inhabital)le  and  the  sandy  soil 
unproductive. 

5.  That  Ifie  fortress  and  city  are  situated  on  the  hanks  of  tJie 
river  and  at  about  its  narrowest  'part  {except  the  Angostura),  and  close 
to  the  first  mouths  or  islands  wh.icli  commence  to  divide  it ;  as  it 
is  shown  by  the  general  map  and  more  particularly  by  the 
greater  point  in  the  accompanying  one,  in  which  are  shown 
all  the  inundated  places,  and  thick  woods,  commencing  at  the 
Castle  down  below,  and  necessarily  to  be  past  by  the  embarka- 
tions employed  in  the  traffic  of  tlu^  Orinoco  and  tlie  Provinces 
of  Cumana,  Barcelona  and  Caracas  in  front  of  the  fortress, 
which  being  once  secured,  said  Provinces  are  so  likewise; 
which  is  not  the  case  with  the  I'ortifications  of  Angostura,  no 
matter  how  strongly  they  are  built,  as  1  will  show  in  my 
second  part. 

6.  That  the  />readfh  from  the  fort ip'catio)is  to  the  ejpposite  side  of 
said  river  is  hanll;/  v:ith-iii  reach  of  a  J.^-pou}idcr  gun,  not  b}' 
elevation  but  at  a  long  range. 

7.  That  the  bottom,  in  flie  greatest  part  of  the  breadth,  is  from 
70  to  SO  fatJtcrius;  being  understood  that  that  is  at  tlie  full 
flood  of  tlie  river,  and  that  at  'the  lowest  ebb  it  is  from  GO  to 
65  fathoms,  and  on  this  point  I  depend*  on  the  experiments  of 
the  engineers  Fajardo  and  -Jordan,  as  1  have  not  made  the 
soundings  personally:  although  1  am  persuaded  that  it  is  so, 
as  the  waters  and  the  channel  become  reduced  and  much  deeper 
at  that  part  of  the  river. 

8.  TJicit  on  the  same  bank,  and  almost  horizontalUj  to  the  ivater, 
the  Castle  of  San  Francisco  de  Asis  is  situated,  as  recognized  by 
said  general  map  and  the  accompanying  one.  On  the  figure 
3,  a  plan  is  ob.served  and  briefly  explained  in  the  third  chap- 


55 

ter  of  the  margin  of  the  same  map,  corresponding  to  the  same 
figure  3. 

9.  Said  Castle  is  placed  upon  a  rock  so  solid  that  it  looks 
like  iron,  and  therefore  does  not  admit  of  either  pickaxe  or 
crowbar,  yielding  only  to  the  heat,  as  when  it  is  properly 
heated  and  suddenly  watered  the  cold  water  makes  splits,  and 
that  is  the  only  means  found  to  build  the  parade  grounds, 
which  were  occupied  by  the  top  of  said  rock,  and  although 
something  remains  j^et  to  make  it  plain — before  the  rock  form- 
ing the  Castle,  joined  to  it,  there  is  another  rock,  within  the 
river,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  map  covering  part  of  the  walls  of 
the  Castle,  leaving  the  place  free  for  the  fires  opened  by  the 
artillery  mounted  on  that  place.  Between  that  rock,  called 
Pefion,  and  the  Castle  there  is  a  channel,  25  to  30  yards  in 
breadth,  that  in  time  of  the  lowest  ebb  remains  with  so  little 
water  as  to  make  the  pass  from  the  land  to  the  Penon  almost 
free  from  the  least  risk,  and  in  some  years  that  channel  has 
been  entirely  dry.  The  fundamental  rock  of  the  Castle  is 
very  steep,  before  the  channel  formed  with  the  Pefion,  the 
ascent  being  most  difficult,  and  still  worse  the  entrance  of 
launches  into  said  channel. 

10.  The  above-mentioned  Pefion,  during  the  low  ebb  of  the 
river,  discovers  about  twenty-one  to  twenty-two  3'ards  (varas), 
and  in  the  full  tide  of  the  river  the  waters  liave  covered  it, 
leaving  sufficient  bottom  for  four  or  five  yards,  having  an  in- 
stance in  which  a  sloop  of  seventy-four  cannons  w^as  anchored 
there. 

11.  The  first  settlers  wdio  founded  the  fortress  fortified  said 
rock,  which  afterwards  has  been  improved  with  walls,  and 
therefore  this  Castle  has  been  constructed  in  an  irregular 
shap3,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  plan  and  figure  3  of  the  accom- 
panying map.  It  is  sixty  Spanish  yards  long  and  thirty  and 
a  half  in  breadth,  as  shown  by  its  particular  site  and  denoted 
by  the  lines  O  Q,  cutting  the  plan.  The  door  is  marked  by 
the  letter  A.  •  The  B,  the  new  lodgings  for  the  officers,  which 
were  built,  among  other  repairs  to  the  fortification,  on  account 
of  the  war  and  for  the  purpose  of  mounting  upon  the  flat  roof 
three  guns  of  the  caliber  marked  with  the  interior  numbers 


50 

2,  3  and  2  (sic).  The  C  denotes  tlie  new  battery  l)uilt  for  the 
same  purpose.  (The  reasons  considered  for  the  formation  of 
said  two  batteries  and  tlie  other  repairs  to  tlio  fortifications 
will  be  explained  in  a  separate  paragraph.) 

12.  This  Itattery  is  raised  over  the  level  of  tlie  parade 
ground,  three  C'astillian  yards  and  is  reached  without  any 
steps  or  ladder,  through  a  slope  formed  by  the  rock,  which  an- 
swers likewise  for  the  ascent  of  the  place  to  the  cavalier,  and 
from  said  battery,  with  an  elevation  of  two  regular  steps,  the 
dat  roof  of  the  lodging  house  and  the  battery  B  is  reached. 

13.  The  dotted  line  in  the  interior  of  said  sketch  marks  the 
newly-made  esplanades  on  account  of  the  war.  The  D,  marks 
the  cavalier  or  bastion  raised  above  the  parade  ground  al)Out 
three  and  a  half  Spanish  yards,  reached  by  the  ascent  of  the 
slope.  The  E,  the  amnumition  store  of  the  fortification.  F,  the 
drilling  room.  G,  ofticers  lodgings  ;  and  H,  tlie  powder  maga- 
zine. The  last  four  apartments  are  intended  to  be  recon- 
structed, as  J  will  explain.  The  J,  the  water  closet.  J,  the 
troop  liead(|uarters.  X,  the  rock  upon  which  the  Ca.stle  is 
built,  without  any  terrc-plein,  and  answering  for  a  parade 
ground  and  cavalier.  The  inside  numbers  show  the  mounted 
artillery  and  the  calibers. 

14.  The  thickness  of  the  walls  around  this  fortilication  is  IJ 
yards,  and  that  of  the  parapets  1  yard  and  4  inches.  The  ma- 
terial is  all  stone  and  morfar  of  a  superior  (piality,  and  admir- 
ably well  prepared  with  that  kind  of  stone  that  makes  the 
walls  very  solid  and  regular,  although  not  very  thick. 

lo.  The  height  is  not  even,  on  account  of  the  more  or  less 
elevation  of  tlie  rock  upon  wliicli  it  is  founded  :  it  is  mai'ked 
by  red  numbers  on  the  exterior  of  the  sketch.  T  say  that  all 
the  front  of  nuinber  1  is  as  high  as  to  touc'h  tlie  embrasures 
about  o/i  yards,  and  besides  half  a  yard  of  {)arapet  at  the  fronts 
of  wliich  all  the  walls  are  of  sand  and  mortar  material,  situated 
upon  the  plain  level  of  the  fundamental  rock  on  that  part. 

10.  The  curtain  of  number  2  has  an  elevationof  0  yards  up 
to  the  embrasures.  That  jiart  of  the  wall,  up  to  the  front  of  the 
tenaille  can  not  be  beaten,  while  the  river  is  low,  on  account 
of  the  great  Pefion  in  front,  whicli  lets  free  only  the  parapets; 


57 

and  when  the  river  is  flooded,  although  it  may  be  beaten  and 
a  bridge  opened  on  that  place,  it  is  not  easily  assaulted,  as  the 
ruins  fall  in  the  water  and  the  fundamental  rock  is  very  steep 
towards  the  Pefion,  and  on  account  of  the  strong  current  dan- 
gerous to  all  minor  embarkations. 

17.  In  the  angle  number  3,  formed  by  the  tenaille,  the  height 
to  the  edge  of  the  embrasures  is  5 J  yards.  The  angle  number 
4  is  6J  yards,  high  up  to  the  embrasures,  built  likewise  of 
stone  and  mortar  material,  but  does  not  defend  here  the  great 
Penon. 

18.  The  angle  number  5,  up  to  the  semicircle  around  the 
figure,  is  2|  yards  up  to  the  embrasure,  and  in  some  parts  3 
yards,  as  it  is  mounted  upon  a  head  or  corner  of  the  funda- 
mental rock,  so  that,  counting  said  rock  as  a  wall,  it  is  4|  to  5 
3'ards.  From  said  head  or  corner  are  salient  points  to  the 
river,  and  several  side  rocks  guard  that  part  of  the  wall,  up  to 
the  line  of  the  stone  mortar  work,  as  seen  in  the  map  on  the 
figure  2. 

19.  In  all  the  circle,  up  to  number  6,  the  wall  is  12  yards^ 
high,  all  of  stone  and  mortar  material,  and  diminishes  gradu- 
ally by  inches,  in  such  a  way  that  at  the  embrasure  number  8- 
is  reduced  to  2|  yards,  and  on  account  of  that  circumstance 
and  the  extended  shape  of  the  fundamental  rock  on  that  spot, 
the  weaker  point  of  the  fortification,  exposed  to  an  easy  assault, 
it  was  found  necessary  last  3'ear  to  raise  the  high  esplanade  of 
the  rectangle  marked  number  7,  and  the  interior,  letter  C,. 
playing  their  two  guns,  from  their  respective  embrasures  and 
those  of  the  flat  roof,  letter  B,  which  can  play  all  around  from 
their  barbette  position. 

20.  At  the  round  formed  by  the  cavaliers  and  the  mark 
number  9,  there  is  only  a  yard  and  a  half  of  wall,  but  count- 
ing from  the  rock  almost  at  level  and  round,  without  any  flaw 
on  the  part  outside  of  the  wall,  the  ascent  is  impracticable, 
and  the  highest  and  safest  part  of  this  fortification  follows  the 
angle  marked  number  10  until  it  meets  thellth.  The  height 
of  the  wall  increases  on  account  of  the  shape  of  the  funda- 
mental rock,  very  steep  from  number  10  to  11,  where  it  flattens, 
and  the  height  of  the  wall  of  stone   and    mortar   material 


58 

measures  two  yards,  and  coiitiiuies  increasing  in  heiglit  one 
yard  more,  up  to  the  round  and  place  marked  number  12. 
Thus  the  lieight  of  tlie  walls,  their  thickness,  and  those  of  the 
]»arajicts  haw  been  shown,  and  (dass  this  fortitication  as  one 
of  a  moi'e  than  ordinary  strength,  notwithstanding  its  stone 
and  mortar  material,  enough  to  mount  four  cannons  of  twenty- 
four,  four  of  eighteen,  two  of  twelve,  and  seven  of  inferior 
caliber  already  in  j)osition.  A  larger  extension  might  be  given 
to  this  fortification  by  constructing  the  curtain  marked  by  the 
diagonal  P,  in  which  case  the  wall  might  be  raised  from  six 
to  seven  yards,  correcting  the  defect  it  has  to-day,  and  with  a 
capacity  for  four  guns  more  of  twenty-four  caliber,  one  enough 
for  the  Orinoco  River  and  two  for  the  Usupamo.  A  barbette 
position  will  make  three  of  them  play  on  the  Orinoco. 

21.  Besides  the  regular  solidity  and  good  situation,  the 
eastern  part  is  guarded  by  the  Tsupanio  River,  wliich.  although 
not  considerable,  it  is  difficult  for  the  artillery  to  pass  and  the 
other  elements  of  war,  on  account  of  the  very  thick  woods,  the 
trees,  and  mudd}^  surroundings  for  the  communication  with 
the  lake  to  the  Zeiba  at  the  entrance  of  the  Orinoco,  requiring 
a  long  detour,  very  expensive  and  laborious,  as  the  ground  is 
very  sandy,  when  not  muddy.  As  these  imi)ediments  of  trees, 
mud,  and  sand  do  not  prevent  the  pass  of  pedestrians,  it  has 
been  found  pi'opcr  to  foi'tify  the  j)lace  on  that  direction. 

22.  On  the  south  side  it  is  defended  by  the  Zeiba  lake,  which 
measures  .lOO  yards  from  east  to  west  and  425  from  south  to 
north  ;  when  the  river  is  low  it  is  not  much,  but  the  mud 
makes  it  imi)racticable.  On  the  north  side  the  greatest  part  of 
the  fortification  is  defended  by  the  great  rocks  facing  it,  as  it 
has  been  said  ;  from  the  west,  by  the  mountain  Padrastro,  im- 
})0ssible  of  being  undermined,  on  account  of  the  solidity  of  the 
rock,  upon  which  it  stands. 

23.  It  is  stronger  yet,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  for  an 
attack  on  tlic  river  side,  as  the  end)ai'kations  that  until  now 
have  been  found  to  be  able  to  enter,  through  the  mouth  called 
of  Xavios,  are  frigates  of  30  guns,  that  aside  of  the  small  caliber 
of  theii'  aitillerv,  they  have  had  to  anchor  in  (J5  fathoms,  dur- 
ing the  lowest  water  of  the  Orinoco  and  in  75  to  80  at  the  high- 


59 

«st  water.  On  the  breadth  of  the  river  two  or  three  vessels 
could  not  play  at  the  same  time,  as  the  rocks  in  front  prevent 
them  from  doing  so.  In  high  water  it  is  not  prevented,  but  the 
rstrong  currents  are  a  great  embarrassment  to  any  attack, 
affording  time  to  those  of  the  Castle  to  duplicate  and  triplicate 
their  fire,  more  injurious  on  account  of  the  greater  caliber  of 
the  artillery. 

24.  From  the  middle  of  October  to  the  middle  of  June  is  the 
season  of  the  winds  (east  and  northeast  winds),  the  only  time 
for  sail  vessels  to  enter  the  Orinoco  River,  and  in  passing  before 
the  Castle  they  may  fire  once,  but  can  not  do  so  again,  while 
•coming  down,  being  bound  to  tack  from  one  side  of  the  river 
to  the  other,  making  very  little  headway  in  these  tackings, 
while  suffering  at  the  same  time,  under  the  fires  of  the  Castle 
without  being  able  to  return  the  same. 

25.  From  the  beginning  of  June  to  the  middle  of  October  it 
is  very  difficult  and  casual  to  be  able  to  set  sails,  on  account  of 
the  want  of  dependence  on  the  wind,  being  rather  squally  dur- 
ing said  months,  and  all  contrary  to  the  navigation,  and  if  to 
this  fortification  is  added  the  one  that  ought  to  be  at  Padrastro, 
it  will  be  so  much  stronger  and  the  Orinoco  will  be  entirely 
safe,  as  I  will  show  it  to  be  the  case  in  my  third  part. 

26.  At  the  time  of  the  visit  only  twelve  cannons  were  found 
mounted  in  this  fortification,  four  of  which  were  18-pounders, 
a  15-pounder  useless,  two  12,  and  three  8-pounders  and  two  of 
inferior  metals.  There  were  besides  thirteen  useless  cannons, 
two  of  12,  two  of  8,  and  nine  of  inferior  caliber,  dismounted 
and  stored  with  the  ammunitions  of  war,  as  belonging  to  the 
fort  of  San  Fernando,  as  it  is  shown  by  the  acts  of  the  general 
visit  sent  to  His  Majesty  by  way  of  the  Royal  Supreme  Council ; 
and  although  in  the  statement  of  the  general  map  belonging 
to  the  fortifications  of  Guayana  it  is  asserted  that  in  the  Castle 
of  San  Francisco  de  Asis  and  in  that  of  San  Diego  de  Alcala, 
thirty  cannons  in  good  condition  and  two  useless  are  kept, 
thirteen  out  of  the  same  are  destined  to  the  fort  of  San  Fer- 
nando, and  in  order  to  avoid  confusion  between  that  statement 
and  the  present  report,  they  were  considered  as  existing  in  the 
'Castle  of  San  Francisco  ;  and,  therefore,  it  is  recited  that  never 


60 

has  tliis  forti'css  liatl  more  tlinn  said  twelve  eaniKnis  mounted 
at  tlie  time  of  the  visit,  and  that  at  present  and  from  last  year 
it  holds  the  seventeen  denoted  by  the  interior  numbers  of  its 
sketeli,  not  admitting  a  greater  number  of  artillery,  although 
it  may  admit  heavier  calibers  than  those  noticed. 

27.  At  the  time  of  the  above-mentioned  general  visit,  at  the 
repeated  instance  of  the  commander  of  Guayana,  it  was  found 
to  be  indispensable  to  provide  those  fortifications  with  guns 
and  other  utensils,  as  well  as  to  build  new  esplanades,  as  the 
old  were  useless,  and  for  the  same  reason  a  store  for  amnumi- 
tions,  a  di'illing  room,  lodgings  for  the  officers,  and  a  powder 
magazine  at  the  Castle  of  San  Francisco,  and  at  that  of  Padras- 
tro  to  make  new  parapets  and  continue  a  cut  or  fosse  formerly 
commenced,  and  to  guard  said  fortification  with  palisades,  for 
the  purpose  of  which  the  corresponding  documents  were  made, 
and  in  the  session  of  the  Board  of  the  Royal  Treasury  in  this 
city  it  was  decided  to  furnish  the  same  with  a  careening  place 
and  utensils  which  were  thought  indispensable  ;  and  in  regard 
to  the  construction  of  new  stores,  lodging  rooms,  and  esplanades 
of  the  Castle  of  San  Francisco,  parapets,  cuts,  and  es})lanades 
of  the  Padrastro,  a  statement  of  the  same  should  be  forwarded? 
with  proper  documents,  to  tlie  ^^iceroy  of  Santa  Fe,  to  whom 
the  resolutions  of  the  subject  apjiertains.  But  before  it  was  so 
done  the  news  of  the  war  came,  while  the  bearer  of  dispatches 
had  not  left  yet,  and  I  convoked  the  Royal  Treasurer's  Board, 
and  it  was  decided  to  build  new  esplanades,  parapets,  fosses, 
and  palisades,  as  well  as  other  necessary  repairs  for  the  defense 
of  that  stronghold,  without  awaiting  the  resolution  of  the  Vice- 
roy of  Santa  Fe,  on  account  of  the  long  delay ;  but,  in  regard 
to  the  stores,  lodging  room  shown  by  the  sketch  figure  3  of 
tlic  accompanying  map  as  in  project,  awaiting  the  decision  of 
the  N'iceroy,  and  for  that  purpose  to  give  him  an  account 
of  all  that  has  been  resolved,  and  I  did  so,  obtaining  his  a})pro 
bation,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  accompanying  documents,  in 
reference  to  the  above  subject  from  the  back  of  folios  214  to  241. 

28.  In  pursuance  of  said  resolutions  I  dictated  all  the 
measures  necessary  for  the  Commander  of  Guayana  to  carry 
out  the  above-mentioned  work   of  repairs  for  the  best  defence- 


61 

of  those  fortifications,  and  indeed  they  were  made  in  that  of 
San  Francisco,  the  esplanades  marked  by  tlie  dotted  lines  in 
the  interior  of  the  sketch  figure  3,  the  lodging  of  the  officers 
quoted  B  of  the  same  sketch,  for  the  purpose  of  mounting  on 
the  fiat  roof  the  cannons  denoted  by  numbers  2,  3,  and  2  play- 
ing in  barbette,  and  the  esplanade  and  battery  denoted  as  C, 
in  which  two  8-pounders  are  placed  designed  by  their  num- 
bers, as  there  is  not  the  least  defence  on  that  spot  of  said  fortifi- 
cation, the  weakest  part  of  the  same. 

29.  Two  12-pounders  were  mounted  ;  two  8-pounders  and  one 
of  three  taken  from  those  destined  for  the  fort  of  San  Fernando, 
and  the  rest  for  said  fort  were  hoisted  and  mounted  on  the 
Padrastro  in  which  new  parapets  were  built,  making  them  out 
of  brick  and  lime  material,  as  those  of  mud  and  old  adobes 
were  extremel}^  dilapidated. 

30.  The  palisade  marked  E  was  likewise  built  on  the  plain 
of  said  Padrastro,  which  is  figure  6  of  the  accompanying  map, 
placing  on  said  palisade  the  ten  cannons  denoted  by  the  interior 
numbers  of  said  sketch,  transferred  there  from  the  Castle  of 
San  Francisco,  as  above  mentioned,  and  four  more  that  were 
found  in  that  place  that  had  been  sent  from  here  with  destina- 
tion to.  the  settlement  of  the  Mission,  and  the  Commander  took 
them. 

31.  Besides  the  palisade  and  the  parapets,  the  cuts  or  fosses 
were  continued  at  the  Padrastro.  They  had  been  already 
commenced  and  concluded,  as  shown  in  the  above-mentioned 
figure  number  6  of  the  accompanying  map.  Thus  the  repairs 
and  new  works  undertaken,  on  account  of  the  war,  are  justified, 
as  well  as  the  reasons  making  them  necessary  and  all  that  I 
have  said  in  regard  to  the  Castle  of  San  Francisco. 

32.  At  a  distance,  within  a  regular  musket-shot  range  from 
the  rock,  forming  the  Castle  of  San  Francisco,  upon  an  ecjual 
surface,  and  at  the  same  bank  of  the  river,  the  mountain  called 
the  Padrastro  stands,  and  on  the  top  of  the  same  is  the  fort  of 
San  Diego  de  Alcala,  as  recognized  in  the  accompanying  map, 
figure  2.  On  the  8th,  you  see  the  perfect  form  of  said  moun- 
tain, and  on  the  margin  of  the  map  the  corresponding  explana- 
tion of  said  figure  8. 


G2 

3u.  ()ii  tliu  (itli,  i.s  seen  the  sketch  of  tlie  fort  (jf  San  Diego- 
de  Alcjilu  as  noticed  with  its  })articuhir  cxjilanation,  and  the 
scale  tit  the  margin  of  the  same  inup,  and  here  I  will  explain 
extensively  what  I  consider  to  be  necessary. 

34.  Different  and  joint  recks,  raising  from  the  banks  of  the 
Orinoco,  and  of  equal  solidity  to  that  of  the  rock  upon  which 
the  Castle  of  San  Francisco  stands,  form  the  almost  round  moun- 
tain of  I'adrastro,  as  seen  by  figure  8.  It  is  elevated  51  yards. 
from  the  surface  of  the  plain,  as  denoted  by  line  A  B  of  said 
tigure. 

From  the  soutli  pai't,  besides  Ijeing  guarde<l  by  the  lake  of 
l)aratillo,  it  is  cut  so  as  to  make  its  ascent  impossible,  and 
the  same  thing  happens  on  the  eastern  side  and  the  road  of 
Puerto  Real. 

35.  On  the  north  and  the  bank  of  the  river  it  is  not  so  well 
cut,  but  it  is  steep  enough,  not  permitting  the  ascent  by  any 
other  than  the  winding  road  shown  the  second  ;  said  ascent  or 
road  has  been  made  with  a  great  deal  of  labor,  breaking 
several  rocks,  and  removing  those  of  smaller  sizes. 

The  ascent  may  be  easily  secured  by  means  of  two  or  three 
gates,  defended  by  artillery  of  small  calil)er. 

3G.  On  the  western  part  the  mountain  extends  until  it 
becomes  so  low  that  in  the  fuller  floods  of  the  Orinoco  River 
it  gives  way  for  the  water  to  pass  through  the  channel  marked 
l'\  and  througli  the  same  it  fills  the  Uaratillo  lake,  E  E,  as  it 
will  be  mentioned. 

.■>7.  At  the  lowest  part  of  said  mountain,  where  the  canal  F 
is  formed,  it  is  closed  by  trees  and  muddy  ground  totally  re- 
fusing a  pass,  when  the  Orinoco  River  is  overflown,  but  not 
when  it  is  low  and  without  a  comnumication  with  the  waters 
of  the  lake,  at  which  time  it  is  not  of  difficult  access,  after- 
overcoming  said  muddy  surroundings  and  trees,  nor  the 
ascent  to  the  mountain  either,  although  subject  to  a  great 
deal  of  tiDulilc  on  account  of  the  want  of  a  good  road  and 
the  sharp  declivity  in  several  ])lai;es,  as  it  is  shown  in  said 
figure  S. 

38.  From  the  opposite  part  of  the  muddy  and  thickly 
wooded  oround    in    the  channel    l'\  where  the  land  Ijcirins  to 


63 

rise,  forming  different  slopes,  that  although  low  nuiy  serve 
principally  for  the  erection  of  batteries,  and  from  there  to  fire 
on  the  Castle  that  is  or  may  be  in  existence;  but  for  that  pur- 
pose a  formal  siege  should  be  necessary',  as  I  will  explain  in 
my  third  part. 

39.  During  the  floods  of  the  Orinoco,  its  waters  go  through 
the  channel  F  to  the  lake  E  E  called  Baratillo.  When  this 
one  is  full  on  the  main  road,  and  enters  in  the  lake  of  La 
Zeiba,  guarding  the  rear  of  the  Castle  of  San  Francisco  and 
Avhich  is  likewise  filled  up,  the  waters  of  the  river  at  this  time 
come  out  by  the  way  of  Puerto  Real,  and  communicate  on 
the  same  road  with  the  lakes  La  Zeiba  and  Baratillo,  the  port 
being  at  the  same  time  at  the  junction  of  both  of  said  lakes 
with  the  main  road. 

40.  When  the  waters  of  the  (Jrinoco  commence  to  lower, 
within  their  ordinary  limits  at  Puerto  Real,  the  lake  La  Zeiba 
carries  its  waters  to  that  of  Baratillo  and  this  one  discharges 
the  same  into  that  of  the  channel  F,  receiving  them  and  keep- 
ing its  portion,  while  that  of  La  Zeiba  retains  less  quantity 
on  account  of  its  elevation.  That  of  Baratillo  is  IJ  fathoms 
deep,  and  when  the  river  is  full,  3  fathoms,  according  to 
the  mai-k  left  at  the  time  of  the  low  waters  and  that  of  1^ 
fathoms. 

41.  Said  Lake  Baratillo  is  from  east  to  west,  when  the  river 
is  low,  425  yards  in  length,  and  Jrom  north  to  south  255 
yards. 

42.  On  the  sketch,  the  summit  of  the  Padrastro  is  not  entirely 
fiat,  but  it  has  an  incline  of  greater  altitude  B  up  to  the  |)lace 
D,  that  may  be  occupied  with  the  Castle,  shown  upon  the  sum- 
mit, 3  to  3|  yards.  The  longitude  of  said  summit  or  sketch  is 
from  Go  to  67  yards,  as  marked  by  line  C  D,  and  the  latitude 
that  may  be  occupied  is  from  50  to  52  yards,  without  leaving 
any  pass  to  go  around  the  Castle  of  the  Conception,  shown  by 
said  figure  8. 

43.  The  summit  of  the  Padrastro  dominates  the  Castle  of 
San  Francisco,  on  the  level  of  the  floor  of  the  parade  ground 
thirty-six  Castillian  yards,  and  at  such  a  sh(jrt  distance  as 
within  an   ordinary   musket-shot  range,  a   reason   why    said 


G4 

•Castle  would  bo  useless,  no  matter  what  repairs  are  done,  if 
the  Padrastro  is  not  fortified  and  well  secured ;  as  if  this  is 
lost  a  dozen  muskets  may  surrender  the  Castle  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, as  it  happened  in  the  year  of  1740,  in  wliieh  the  British 
took  it  after  the  French  liad  done  the  same  thiii^-  before. 

44.  In  the  year  of  1749,  being  (lovernor,  Don  Diego  Tavares, 
and  of  his  own  accord,  he  built  the  fort  of  San  Diego  de  Alcala, 
at  an  expense  of  ^2,250  (Spanish  currency) ;  Sl,775  of  the  same, 
the  proceeds  of  fines,  during  his  government  and  that  of  his 
predecessor,  Don  Gregorio  de  Espinosa,  applied  to  that  purpose, 
and  the  remainder,  $475,  were  supplied  by  the  Royal  Treas- 
ury, as  advised  to  His  Majesty,  about  this  disbursement  and 
the  construction,  by  the  same  Tavares  who  obtained  the  ap- 
})roval  of  everything  by  the  Royal  Cedulc,  dated  at  Buen  Re- 
tiro  on  the  21st  of  March,  1750. 

.  45.  Said  fort  of  San  Diego  is  very  good,  at  the  low  cost  paid 
by  the  Royal  Treasury,  making  more  or  less  of  a  defence, 
which  did  not  exist  before  its  construction,  but  it  is  not 
enough  to  guard  and  defend  the  mountain  of  the  Padrastro, 
the  only  advantageous  site,  securing  the  Orinoco  and  all  these 
Provinces,  which  will  remain  at  the  mercy  of  any  one  control- 
ling said  mountain,  as  I  will  show. 

46.  In  the  accompanying  map  and  its  second  figure  the  fort 
is  })lace(l  upon  the  mountain  of  Padrastro,  and  the  figure  6,  of 
tlie  same  mop,  shows  the  sketch  and  palisade  and  fosse  made 
last  year,  on  account  of  the  war,  and  at  the  margin  of  the  same 
map  is  the  corresponding  short  explanation  and  i)articular 
scale  of  said  figure  (J. 

The  fort  is  reduced  to  four  e(pial  fronts,  shown  by  said  sketch, 
three  yards  high,  of  stone  and  mortar  construction,  ascended 
by  a  hand  scale  laid  at  the  place  marked  A.  The  salient  angle 
of  each  one  of  the  bulwarks  is  four  yards  and  its  gorges  two. 

47.  In  two  of  said  l)ulwarks  there  are  two  small  sentry  boxes 
noted,  B  B.  The  ('  marks  the  lodgings  of  the  troop,  answer- 
ing likewise  for  stores  of  victuals,  ammunitions  and  powder 
magazine,  with  no  other  extension  than  4  square  yards,  situ- 
ated in  the  middle  of  the  lO  scpiare  yards  of  the  jiarade  room, 
as  shown  by  its  particular  scale. 


65 

48.  At  the  time  of  the  visit  there  were  found  six  cannons  of 
2  and  3  (sic).  The  embrasures  for  their  phiy  and  all  tlie  para- 
pets were  entired  ruined  and  undone,  as  the  adobe  was  as 
crude  as  the  mud.  This  circumstance  and  the  scanty  and  thin 
artillery,  the  occupation  of  the  parade  grounds  by  the  towers 
and  the  little  house,  4  square  yards,  founded  upon  4  feet,  and 
having  no  room  in  the  rest  of  the  fort  for  more  than  twelve  or 
fourteen  men,  without  any  cover,  make  this  fortification  of  a 
very  little  appreciable  or  respectable  character. 

49.  In  order  to  give  it  more  or  less  safety,  several  parapets  of 
lime  and  brick  were  built  and  the  palisade  marked  E  E  E  E, 
consisting  of  a  stone  and  mortar  breastwork  Ih  yards  high  and 
three-quarters  thick  to  secure  the  palisade.  It  has  at  the  same 
time  the  corresponding  embrasures  for  firing  the  artillery, 
marked  by  the  interior  numbers  and  mounted  in  their  corre- 
sponding places.  The  fosse  was  opened  and  the  western  por- 
tion defends  the  palisade,  being  10  yards  in  breadth  and  Sh  in 
depth,  all  through  rock.  These  repairs,  although  not  suffi- 
cient for  the  defence  of  this  important  mountain,  afford  a  little 
more  safety  than  at  the  time  of  the  fort  of  San  Diego,  and  are 
without  the  limits  permitted  at  present,  in  virtue  of  the  reso- 
lutions at  the  two  meetings  of  the  Royal  Board  of  the  Treas- 
ury, found  in  the  acts  contained  at  the  back  of  folios  214  to  241. 

50.  In  Chapter  6,  all  the  steps  taken  from  the  year  1694 
towards  the  construction  of  fort  San  Fernando  have  been 
justified.  In  consequence  of  the  same  its  construction  Avas  in- 
tended on  the  Island  of  Limones,  but  the  idea  was  soon  given 
up,  as  it  was  ascertained  that  it  could  not  be  solidly  and  se- 
curely built,  on  account  of  the  muddy  and  sandy  bottom. 

51.  Once  established  the  want  of  solidity  of  said  island,  a 
change  of  ground  was  made,  selecting  what  is  called  firm 
ground  for  the  one  that  was  initiated  in  the  year  of  1753. 
Before  it  was  finished  in  1760  it  was  found  unsafe  in  various 
parts.  I  reported  the  case  to  His  Majesty  with  the  correspond- 
ing proceedings  on  the  29th  of  December  of  the  same  year  of 
1760.  And  with  that  of  the  23d  of  September  of  1761,  and 
the  corresponding  justification,  I  gave  likewise  an  account 
of    having   made   an    examination    personally  of  said  fort, 

Vol.  1,  Ven. — 5 


66 

accepting-  the  report  of  the  master  mason  Juan  Parrilhi,  who 
stated  tliat  there  was  no  remedy  for  the  impending  rain  to 
follow,  as  evinced  by  the  corresponding  documents.  And  in 
consequence  of  the  same,  Ilis  Majesty  gave  directions  for  a 
Caracas  engineer  to  come  to  re-examine  the  work  and  its 
improvement  if  possilde.  Tho}^  were  not  carried  out,  for  the 
reasons  expressed  in  said  Chapter  G. 

52.  In  my  representation  of  the  23d  of  September  of  1761,  I 
did  not  inform  his  Majesty  of  the  uselessness  of  said  fort  and 
how  injurious  its  subsistence  is,  as  I  did  not  consider  myself 
sufficiently  qualified,  nor  possessing  the  power  to  do  so,  think- 
ing that  an  engineer  sent  to  make  an  examination  should  do 
so  more  accurately,  and  then  my  approval  of  the  report  of  the 
master  mason  Parrilla,  already  mentioned,  might  be  sufficient ;. 
and  besides  that,  what  I  sent  by  way  of  warning  in  my  note  9,. 
of  the  corresponding  memorandum,  affirming  that  said  fortifi- 
cation is  worthy  of  the  same  estimation  as  that  of  Padrastro,, 
with  the  difference  that  it  ought  to  be  very  well  fortified  and 
that  one  abandoned. 

53.  As  the  examination  of  the  above-mentioned  fort  by  au 
engineer  from  Caracas,  has  not  taken  place,  and  His  Majesty 
lately,  by  the  Royal  Order  of  the  27tli  of  May  of  last  year  and  in 
virtue  of  reports  received,  is  constrained  to  a  condemnation  of  all 
the  other  w'orks  mentioned  by  said  Royal  Order,  I  consider 
myself  in  duty  bound  to  inform  Your  Majesty  of  its  condition, 
impossibilities,  in  the  way  of  said  work  and  the  others  alread}^ 
resolved,  the  large  expenses  involved  and  the  most  important 
point  required  for  the  Royal  service,  the  al)an(lomiient  of 
said  fort. 

54.  And  in  order  to  carry  out  tliis  idea  at  the  earliest 
possible  opportunity,  I  will  state  in  this  first  part,  the  condi- 
tion in  which  it  was  found  at  the  time  of  the  visit  and  at 
present,  as  well  as  the  reasons  that  I  had  (besides  those  con- 
tained in  these  acts),  to  yield  to  the  report  of  the  master  mason 
Parrilla  and  to  show  in  the  note  9  of  my  memorandum  that 
it  does  not  deserve  the  least  attention,  and  that  it  nuist  be 
abandoned. 

55.  In  the  second  part,  and  in  answer  to  the  Royal  Order,  I 


67 

will  show  how  useless  are  all  the  works  that  His  Majesty 
desires  to  undertake,  the  large  expenses  involved  and  how 
prejudicial  will  be  the  continued  subsistence  of  the  same  in 
that  place. 

56.  And  in  the  third  part  I  will  explain  the  importance  of 
the  expense  and  fortification  of  the  Padrastro  mountain  and 
the  funds  uselessly  expended  in  the  repairs  of  said  fort  of  San 
Fernando. 

57.  This  work  is  situated  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Castle 
of  San  Francisco,  on  what  they  call  the  mainland,  close  to  the 
creek  of  the  Island  of  Limones,  as  is  shown  by  the  accompany- 
ing map  on  figure  2. 

58.  It  is  reduced  to  an  oval  tower,  built  of  brick  and  lime, 
with  terre-pleins  in  the  interior  filled  with  pounded  earth  and 
stone. 

59.  On  the  fifth  figure  of  said  map  there  is  a  horizontal  sec- 
tion settled  with  a  dotted  scale  placed  at  the  margin  of  the 
same  map,  giving  the  particulars  and  a  short  explanation. 

60.  The  greatest  diameter  of  said  fort  and  its  oval  figure  is 
31  yards  and  32  inches,  as  noted  A  A ;  the  least  diameter  is 
24  yards  and  18  inches,  as  B  B.  It  has  eight  counter  forts, 
marked  G.  Its  foundations  are  3  yards  and  18  inches  thick, 
including  a  scale  according  to  D.  The  wall  commences  2 
yards  and  26  inches,  according  to  E,  and  finishes  at  1  yard 
and  20  inches,  as  shown  by  F,  and  the  parapet  finishes  in  bar- 
bette at  1  yard  and  6  inches,  according  to  G.  At  the  time  of 
the  visit  it  had  the  nine  splits,  marked  I,  all  beginning  at 
the  start  of  the  foundation,  according  to  the  examination  made 
of  the  two,  following  in  a  more  or  less  straight  line  until  the 
interior  and  the  exterior  of  the  parapet  are  divided. 

61.  Through  two  of  these  splits,  and  from  the  start  of  the 
foundation  up  to  the  conclusion  of  the  socle,  there  was  a  full 
space  for  one  hand,  and  between  the  floor  from  there  upwards 
there  was  a  diminution  up  to  the  parajDet. 

62.  The  seven  remaining  splits  were  of  about  an  inch  more 
or  less  of  space,  from  the  surface  of  the  ground  to  the  end  of 
the  socle,  and  from  there  they  followed  in  diminution  up  to 
the  division  of  the  parapet. 


G8 

63.  It  was  exaniiiu'il  by  means  of  a  thin  walking-  stick,  dis- 
covering that  said  splits  penetrate  and  divide  all  {\\v  thickness 
of  the  walls. 

64.  Once  the  examination  ilnished,  said  splits  were  all  stop- 
ped and  filled  up  with  fine  mortar,  to  avoid  the  penetration  of 
the  waters,  during  the  flood  of  the  Orinoco  and  the  continual 
rains  of  that  climate,  but  these  repairs  have  be<;'ome  useless,  as 
the  above  nine  splits  have  been  reopened  a  great  deal  more, 
aggregating  to  their  greatest  opening  a  new  one,  equal  to  those 
previously  found. 

65.  On  the  figure  4,  and  in  point  of  perspective,  tlie  vertical 
section  of  the  fort  is  shown,  its  interior  structure,  its  counter 
forts,  the  depth  of  the  foundations,  the  height  of  the  walls,  the 
splits  them  dividing  from  the  foundation  to  the  parapet,  and  at 
tlie  margin  the  corresponding  explanation,  which  is,  1,  section 
of  the  wall ;  2,  cordon  ;  3,  socle ;  4,  counter  forts  ;  5,  four  yards 
and  twenty-four  inches  of  foundation,  including  socle,  deepen- 
ing what  is  marked  by  dotted  lines. 

66.  The  height  of  the  wall  from  the  socle,  including  a  foot 
of  cordon,  is  6  yards  and  8  inches  ;  that  of  the  parapet  on 
the  in.side  and  barbette  is  28  inches,  and  outside  14  inches. 

67.  The  splits  dividing  the  body  of  the  wall  and  its  founda- 
tion continue  in  diminution,  until  that  part  where  they  divide 
also  the  parapet,  noted  at  figure  6. 

68.  The  Orinoco  River  attains  its  highest  elevation  about 
the  end  of  July  and  keeps  it  during  the  month  of  August  and 
part  of  September,  and  during  that  time  the  fort  San  Fernando 
is  inundated  about  one-fourth  (sic)  more  or  less  from  the  socle. 

69.  After  having  made  the  examination  of  the  fort  San  Fer- 
nando and  found  it  in  such  a  poor  condition,  any  steps  to 
make  it  wholly  safe  might  prove  useless  and  sink  the  funds 
laid  out  in  repairs,  I  appointed  Sergeant  Major  Don  Gaspar  de 
Salaverria,  director  of  the  works  in  the  capacity  of  an  engineer, 
Joseph  Luque  and  Juan  Parrilla,  the  master  masons,  who  had 
erected  the  .same,  to  make  an  exposition  on  the  subject;  and 
the  Sergeant  Major  answered  tJiat  it  was  the  same  that  he  had 
given  to  his  Honor  in  the  citij  of  Caniand  on  tlie  IStli  of  December 


69 

of  last  year,  and  that  an  engineer  might  he  appointed  by  His 
Majesty  to  make  an  examination  and  expose  with  better  qualifi- 
cations what  it  may  be  done  for  the  stability  of  tlie  fortress,  as 
the  exponent  finds  in  his  limited  intelligence,  that  it  will  be 
very  expensive  and  that  he  thinks  that  said  fort  may  last  long 
or  for  many  years  in  its  present  condition. 

70.  Luque  said  that  said  fort  will  likely  continue  sinking, 
without  any  fear  of  the  fall  of  the  walls,  on  account  of  the  oval 
shape  that  will  keep  it  together. 

71.  And  Parrilla  said  that  on  the  5th  or  6th  of  April  of  last 
year  of  1760,  he  withdrew  from  the  works  of  said  fort,  having 
been  excluded  from  the  same,  and  he  left  only  one  flaw  or  split, 
2^  yards  high,  ver}^  thin,  and  that  at  the  beginning  of  June  of 
the  same  year,  he  returned  from  the  Mission  of  Caroni  to  the 
City  of  Guayana,  where  he  heard  that  said  fort  had  discovered 
eight  or  nine  splits  and  that  in  consideration  of  the  short  time 
elapsed  and  the  examination  that  he  had  made  he  thinks 
that  the  said  fort  wdll  last  a  very  short  time,  as  it  appears  from 
the  acts  addressed  to  His  Majesty  in  the  representations  of  the 
29th  of  December  of  1760  {sic)  and  the  23rd  of  September  of 
1761,  it  will  be  seen  my  decision  at  the  same  fortress,  on  the 
27th  of  February  of  1761,  accepting  the  report  of  said  Parrilla, 
but  I  did  not  express  at  that  time  the  reasons  in  support  of 
my  views,  which  are  the  following: 

72.  First :  That  although  the  Sergeant  Major  exposed  that  the 
repairs  intended,  according  to  his  limited  intelligence,  should 
be  very  expensive,  he  did  not  give  any  precise  idea  of  the 
repairs  or  improvements,  although  he  was  requested  to  do  so, 
a  reason  why,  in  my  judgment,  I  thought  that  was  only  done 
to  extricate  himself  from  a  difficult  position.  I  was  sure  that 
he  is  not  an  engineer  by  profession,  and  possesses  only  a 
limited  theory  acquired  from  the  books  on  the  subject,  as  he 
has  no  reason  for  any  practical  knowledge,  on  account  of  his 
never  having  left  this  place  of  his  birth,  where  they  have  not 
had  any  works  of  fortification,  during  his  lifetime,  and  that 
although  he  went  to  Carthagena,  when  the  Viceroy  of  Santa 
Fe  was  there,  his  visit  was  for  a  few  days  only  in  that  place? 
and  had  no  time  to  examine  the  fortifications. 


70 

And  although  he  said  that  the  fort  would  last  in  the  present 
condition  man}^  years,  that  was  not  sufficient  to  keep  it  ser- 
viceable for  the  play  of  its  artillery,  and  much  less  to  resist  a 
sloop  of  six  or  eight  cannons,  witliout  danger  of  the  fall  of  the 
present  c^uarters. 

73.  Second:  That  although  Luque  assures  that  it  will  last 
for  several  years,  witliout  any  fall  of  the  walls,  on  account  of 
the  oval  shape  of  the  structure,  he  said  likewise  that  it  should 
continue  sinking,  which  tacitly  and  with  better  conviction 
than  Salaverria,  means  that  he  admits  the  want  of  safety  and 
usefulness  of  the  same. 

74.  Third :  That  what  Parrilla  has  exposed  was  more  accept- 
able, because,  if  within  two  months  nine  splits  have  been 
opened,  dividing  from  top  to  bottom  tlie  M-hole  of  the  work,  it 
was  natural  to  fear  a  total  ruin,  without  being  necessary  any 
fall  of  the  wall.  It  was  enough  that  they  should  be  useless 
even  when  the  headcjuarters  might  be  standing. 

75.  Fourth :  My  expectatation  of  a  total  ruin  is  based  on  the 
want  of  safety  of  the  ground  on  which  the  fort  stands,  for 
although  they  call  it  firm  ground  it  is  movable,  and  formed 
from  the  alluvial  deposits  of  the  floods  of  the  Orinoco  River,  just 
as  that  of  the  Island  of  Limones,  which  was  rejected,  as  being 
formed  of  mud  and  sand  and  only  held  together  by  the  main 
land  supported  by  the  roots  of  the  trees,  and  unaljle  to  stand 
the  weiglit  of  the  walls  of  said  fort.  On  the  ground  of  this 
conclusion  a  walking  stick  was  sunk  in  the  excavation  made, 
and,  being  lower  by  a  quarter  of  a  yard  than  the  foundation, 
the  force  of  this  only  sunk  it  for  three-quarters  more,  and  in 
proportion  of  the  profundity  the  bottom  became  more  damp 
and  full  of  mud  and  sand. 

76.  Fifth:  I  became  sure,  in  my  opinion,  when  considering 
the  great  difficulty  to  stop  perfectly  the  whole  of  said  splits, 
so  as  to  avoid  the  introduction  of  the  Orinoco  waters,  during 
the  whole  of  the  month  of  August  and  part  of  September, 
when  they  are  about  one-fourth  of  more  elevation  than  the 
socle  and  the  daily  showers  that  are  so  copious,  allowing  very 
little  intermission,  and  both  apt  to  make  splits,  on  account  of 
the  imperfections  of  the  work,  as  it  was  to  be  expected   and 


71 

has  taken  place,  the  greatest  split  of  all  has  been  noticed  after 
the  repairs  of  the  other  nine,  being  now  ten  in  all. 

77.  Sixth:  The  sixth  reason  I  had  to  agree  in  opinion  with 
Parrilla  was  the  bad  quality  of  the  mortar,  which  this  person 
and  Luque  had  disapproved,  as  the  facility  for  the  demolition 
is  shown  by  trying  the  touch  of  the  fingers  and  the  impression 
of  the  least  knock  on  the  work,  showing  the  bad  quality  of 
the  material,  with  more  sand  than  the  proportion  of  lime 
would  allow.  It  was  not  taken  into  consideration  the  objec- 
tion made  by  the  masons  Luque  and  Parrilla  and  not  denied 
by  Salaverria,  that  a  great  portion  of  the  work  was  made  of 
pieces  of  brick.  As  that  is  all  covered  I  could  not  verify  the 
fact.  If  it  is  true  that  broken  bricks  have  been  used  in  halves, 
and  less  than  halves,  the  cohesion  of  the  work  must  be  poor, 
and  in  more  or  less  time  the  headquarters  will  crumble  through 
the  crevices,  although,  as  Luque  said,  the  oval  shape  may  sup- 
port it,  as  well  as  the  eight  interior  counter  forts,  which  sup- 
ported by  the  terre-pleins  will  make  more  difficult  an  overturn 
of  the  walls  they  support. 

78.  Seventh :  The  seventh  reason  for  the  short  duration  of 
this  fort  is  the  terre-plein.  It  was  made  of  several  beds  of 
loose  stone  under  other  beds  of  poorly  pounded  earth,  all  by 
the  hands  of  Indians,  with  only  one  overseer  to  attend  the 
work,  but  without  any  capacity  for  a  useful  work,  the  conse- 
quence being  that  the  waters  are  introduced  through  the 
crevices  left  by  the  imperfect  poundings  of  the  earth  lowering 
it  and  discovering  the  stones,  and  although  another  filling  has 
been  done  and  some  repairs  made  with  bricks  and  other  things 
to  facilitate  the  course  of  the  waters  and  drainage  of  the  parade 
grounds,  nothing  solid  is  obtained  at  the  terre-plein,  nor  to 
avoid  the  accumulation  of  waters  at  the  parade  grounds  and 
much  less  to  stop  those  penetrating  through  the  floors;  these 
causes  make  impossible  the  construction  of  a  house  that  ought 
to  exist,  and  could  not  be  built,  when  the  foundations  (already 
built)  are  not  deep  enough  and  upon  a  poorly  pounded  terre- 
plein,  only  2  yards  and  26  inches  deep. 

79.  It  is  not  advisable  to  build  in  what  remains  of  the 
parade  ground  the  mortar  and  plaster  flooring,  as  a  safeguard 


against  the  waters  from  the  esplanade  of  the  artillery,  and  if  it 
is  done,  in  whole  or  in  part,  it  will  run  the  evident  risk  of 
sinking  in  a  short  time,  no  matter  what  })recautions  may  be 
taken  to  prevent  it.  This  defect  might  possibly  be  remedied 
by  changing  the  position  of  said  fort,  renewing  the  terre-plein, 
but  this  maufcuvre,  so  necessary,  might  be  useful  if  the  fort 
itself  were  of  any  service,  but  this  expense  is  useless  and  undue 
in  tlie  present  condition  of  the  quarters,  with  the  ten  splits 
around  the  work,  dividing  the  whole  of  the  wall,  as  shown  by 
figures  4  and  5  of  the  accompanying  map. 

80.  Those  are  the  reasons  that  I  had  to  accept  the  report  of 
the  master  mason  Parrilla,  and  I  shall  have  to  expose  those 
that  have  moved  me  to  assure  in  my  note  9  of  the  memo- 
randum, that  the  fort  of  San  Fernando  was  not  worthy  of 
being  kept  and  that  it  ought  to  be  abandoned.  Anybody  who 
has  paid  any  attention  to  the  navigation  of  the  rivers  Magda- 
lena,  Orinoco,  and  others,  although  not  so  important  in  these 
countries,  may  have  observed  that  in  their  great  floods,  islands 
may  be  swept  away  and  disappear,  as  well  as  the  margins 
covered  with  trees  may  be  easily  converted  into  islands  and 
margins  that  had  no  existence  before,  and  that  during  the  low 
waters  of  the  same  rivers,  with  the  extreme  heat  of  the  climate, 
in  a  short  time  a  variety  of  trees  is  produced  subsisting  in  the 
water,  and  sometimes  below,  after  the  subsequent  floods,  and  in 
a  few  years  they  raise  in  strength  and  size,  forming  groves,  and 
their  roots  sup[)orting  the  earth  and  sand  and  forming  islands 
and  shores.  It  is  a  notorious  fact  that  notwithstanding  the 
strength  of  the  roots  and  groves  in  a  few  years  the  river  carries 
them  away  with  more  or  less  force,  making  incomprehensible 
the  turns  of  the  water  and  other  accidents,  as  that  of  laying 
down  the  groves,  showing  in  consequence  the  inconsistence  of 
the  islands  and  river  banks,  which  may  disappear  at  the  first, 
second,  or  at  any  other  successive  flood. 

81.  That  is  the  quality  of  the  land  of  the  Island  of  Limones, 
and  of  the  other  islands  formed  by  the  creek  Patapataima, 
which  are  shown  by  the  accompanying  map,  and  what  is  called 
mainland  is  about  the  same,  divided  by  the  creek  Guarapo, 
beino;  about  half  a  lea<2-ue  wide,  until   reacliing  the  outskirts 


73 

of  what  really  is  the  mainland,  where  the  Franco  Cattle  estate- 
is  situated,  being  all  plain  ground,  swampy,  and  covered  with 
high  and  thick  clusters  of  trees,  as  those  of  the  Island  of 
Limones  and  the  other  islands  above  mentioned.  What  is 
called  mainland  begins  to  be  flooded  by  the  Orinoco  River 
about  the  end  of  June,  and  the  water  rises  gradually  up  to 
the  end  of  July,  when  it  attains  the  highest  point  maintained, 
during  all  the  month  of  August  and  part  of  September,  in 
which  it  commences  to  lower  down,  until  the  beginning  of  the- 
middle  of  November,  when  they  reach  the  lowest  stage,  below 
the  islands  and  the  mainland,  as  shown  by  these  acts  at  folios 
55  to  67. 

82.  Overlooking  the  want  of  solidity  of  the  ground,  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Trinidad,  Don  Augustin  de  xlrredondo,  the  engineer 
Don  Pablo  Diaz  Fajardo,  (this  one  took  his  precautions),  the 
Governors  of  these  Provinces,  Don  Carlos  de  Sucre,  Don  Greg- 
orio  de  Espinosa  and  Don  Diego  Tavares,  the  engineers  Don 
Antonio  Jordan  and  Don  Gaspar  de  Lara,  Father  Joseph  de 
Gurnilla  and  other  persons,  conversant  with  the  Orinoco,  were 
of  the  opinion  that  a  fort  ought  to  be  built  on  the  Island  of 
Limones,  and  it  was  approved  by  His  Excellency,  Don  Sebas- 
tain  de  Eslava,  Viceroy  of  Santa  Fe,  in  virtue  of  the  exposition 
of  the  engineer  director  of  the  fortress  of  Carthagena,  Don  Juan 
Bautista  MacEvan. 

83.  After  having  cleared  part  of  the  Island  of  Limones,  it 
was  found  to  be  36  yards  wide,  and  when  the  work  was  to  be 
commenced  the  river  had  left  only  23  yards,  and  besides  this 
loss  of  space,  the  ground  was  found  to  be  all  mud  and  sand, 
and  by  no  means  solid  or  suitable  for.!the  construction  of  a 
stronghold,  and  in  consequence  it  was  decided  to  build  it 
on  the  mainland,  where  it  stands  at  present,  as  is  shown  at 
length  in  Chapter  6  of  the  accompanying  proceedings. 

84.  Notwithstanding  that  the  Governor  Don  Diego  Tavares, 
and  those  who  concurred  with  him  in  the  selection  of  the  new 
ground,  as  a  more  advantageous  site,  they  did  not  anticipate  the 
inconvenience  and  difhculty  that  were  to  make  it  useless  and 
the  existence  of  said  fort  on  that  ground  impossible,  as  I  wilt- 
show. 


74 

85.  In  order  to  build  said  fort  enough  part  of  the  ground 
was  cleared,  and  the  foundations  were  opened,  and  although 
doubts  were  entertained  about  tlie  safety  of  the  ground,  the 
opinion  prevailed  that  it  was  solid,  but  l)efore  tlR'  work  was 
finished  and  under  the  inevitable  iin})ending  ruin  it  has  be- 
com-e  evident  tiiat  the  ground  is  as  unsteady  as  that  of  the 
Island  of  Limones,  and  by  no  means  solid,  and  consequently 
its  defects  are  not  capable  of  remedy,  said  fort  being  useless, 
besides  the  greater  inconvenience  of  its  want  of  solidity. 

86.  The  Island  of  Limones  was  given  up  as  useless,  after 
the  loss  of  the  23  yards  taken  by  the  river,  after  it  was  cleared 
of  the  trees,  the  roots  of  which  had  kept  that  space.  The  same 
thing  has  happened  on  the  mainland,  for  at  the  beginning  of  the 
examination,  the  banks  in  front  of  the  Castle  of  San  Francisco 
were  80  yards  far  from  tlie  actual  ground,  where  the  fort  stands, 
which  were  all  cleared  so  as  to  keep  free  all  that  space  in  front 
of  said  castle,  but  not  enough  for  the  play  of  the  artillery  on 
the  river  below  and  notwithstanding  it  was  iound,  at  the  time 
of  the  visit,  that  from  the  bank  of  the  river  to  the  fort  the  dis- 
tance was  onh^  20  j-ards,  giving  a  loss  of  60  yards  of  the  open 
ground  occupied  by  the  bed  of  the  Orinoco  River  and  within 
three  or  four  years,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  said  banks  may  be 
at  the  foot  of  said  fort,  or  else  sink  the  same,  and  the  bed  of 
the  Orinoco  River  take  SO  more  yards  from  the  space  it  held 
at  the  time  of  the  beginning  of  the  work  and  the  clearance  of 
the  space  to  build  it. 

87.  Reflecting  at  the  time  of  the  visit  upon  this  pernicious 
detriment,  no  proper  way  was  found  to  remedy  the  evil,  as  the 
banks  of  the  river  on  all  the  lengths  of  that  region  are  about 
11  or  12  yards  high  and  the  ground  is  sand  and  movable 
earth,  and  from  the  foot  to  the  bed  of  the  Orinoco  River,  at  its 
lowest  ebb,  forms  a  steep  quicksand  bank,  being  0  or  7  yards 
from  the  lowest  bed  of  the  river  to  the  bank.  The  want  of 
-solidity  and  abruptness  of  this  sand  bank,  its  elevation,  and  the 
circumstance  of  the  overflow  of  the  river  a  yard  and  a  half 
above  the  surface  of  the  mainland,  flooding  the  socle  of  tlie  fort, 
make  impossible  and  useless  any  kind  of  repairs  in  order  to  pre- 
vent the  river  from  carrving  awav  that  bank,  and  sooner  or 


75 

later  the  fort  itself,  and  if  this  one  were  removed  farther  inland 
and  tlie  ground  cleared  of  trees,  it  is  no  doubt  that  the  river 
•should  spread  there  its  waters,  extending  its  bed  and  render- 
ing useless  the  fortification  of  San  Francisco  and  Padrastro, 
and  allowing  a  free  entrance  to  the  embarkations  of  the  Caribs 
and  other  foreigners  to  pass  close  to  that  bank  against  the 
object  in  view.  These  were  my  reasons,  at  the  time  of  the 
visit,  for  my  positive  orders  to  forbid  the  clearance  of  the  20 
yards  intervening  between  the  fort  and  the  banks,  allowing  the 
trees  to  grow  freely,  in  order  to  avoid  the  fall  of  the  fort  with 
that  of  the  banks,  and  before  undertaking  any  repairs  or  its 
abandonment,  if  that  was  His  Majesty's  pleasure,  according  to 
the  report  of  the  engineer  sent  to  examine  said  fort. 

88.  But,  even  if  said  fort  were  built  with  due  safety,  and  the 
difficulty  of  securing  said  bank  overcome,  its  uselessness  is 
unquestionable  when  taking  into  consideration  the  plague  of 
mosquitoes,  sand  fleas,  horse  flies  and  other  insects  produced 
by  the  stagnant  waters  around  the  Island  of  Limones  and  its 
surroundings,  so  as  to  make  unbearable  the  life  in  that  place 
all  the  year  around,  especially  after  sunset.  When  this  land 
is  inundated  it  is  impossible  to  stay  there  for  even  half  an 
hour  in  daytime,  and  much  less  by  night,  on  account  of  the 
clouds  of  mosquitoes  kept  in  the  woods,  and  other  insects. 
There  is  no  exaggeration,  as  everybody  can  see  the  fact,  even 
if  Father  Gumilla,  in  his  (illustrated  Orinoco)  Orinoco  ilus- 
trado,  would  not  confirm  the  fact.  This  defect  is  not  suscep- 
tible of  a  remedy,  and  was  not  anticipated  at  the  time  of  locat- 
ing said  fort.  The  ground  may  be  cleared,  on  wdiat  the}^  call 
mainland,  and  its  immediate  islands  (a  not  very  easy  or  cheap 
-affair),  the  stagnant  waters  in  which  the  trees  are  imbedded 
will  always  produce  the  same  insects,  as  it  is  the  case  in  muddy 
grounds  and  lagoons  without  having  any  trees.  In  order  to 
keep  the  ground  clear,  an  annual  expense  would  be  necessary 
to  remove  the  encumbrances,  which  should  bring  another  in- 
convenience, endangering  the  very  existence  of  said  fort  in 
its  present  condition  even  if  constructed  anew,  running  the 
risk  of  a  clear  sweep  of  both  bank  and  fortification,  under  a 
■change  of  bed  of  the  Orinoco.     I  have  considered  these  reasons 


76 

sufficient  for  tlie  abauiloiiint'nt   of  said  fort,  as  stated  in  my 
note  9  of  my  memorandum. 

89.  In  said  note  I  said  that  the  garrison  of  tlie  fort  is  com- 
posed of  a  captain  commander,  a  lieutenant,  two  suh-lieuten- 
ants,  a  constable,  a  chaplain,  two  sergeants  of  fusileers,  twa 
corporals.  12  artillerymen,  a  drummer,  and  77  private  sol- 
diers, making  in  all  100  persons.  Most  of  them  (except  the 
officers  and  very  few  white  persons)  are  mulattoes,  mestees 
and  negroes  who  can  stand  better  the  climate;  that  the 
said  100  persons  are  annualh^  paid  $13,994,  as  may  be  seen  by 
the  corresponding  statement  of  the  general  ma]).  This  amount 
is  paid  out  of  $14,000  drawn  by  His  Majesty  on  the  Treasury 
of  Santa  Fe.  The  above  100  ]>ersons  are  employed  to-day  as 
follows:  nine  men  and  one  eor})()ral  detached  to  the  Island  of 
Trinidad;  IG  to  18  in  custody  of  the  Missions  of  tlie  Catalan 
Capuchins;  an  officer,  one  corporal,  and  six  men  that  are  em- 
ployed most  of  the  year  in  traveling  to  Santa  Fe,  in  quest  of 
the  $14,000  of  the  apportionment ;  two  detached  by  order  of 
the  chief  of  squadrons,  Don  Joseph  de  Iturriaga,  considering 
as  daily  sick  10  to  12  men,  and  remaining  in  the  service  of 
the  fortress,  without  including  the  commander,  chaplain,  con- 
stable and  drummer,  43  ;  in  which  number  there  are  26  men 
daily  emj)loyed  in  this  way:  one  officer,  one  corporal,  and  12 
uwn  in  the  Castle  of  San  Frane-isco  ;  one  sergeant,  one  cor- 
poral and  four  men  in  that  of  San  Diego;  six  men,  one  acting 
as  corporal  at  the  headquarters,  and  the  orderlies  at  the  com- 
mander's house.  It  is  therefore  evident  that  having  no  more 
than  46,  as  the  total  remaining  after  the  service  of  the  fortress, 
not  only  they  have  not  the  rest  allowed  by  the  regulations,  but 
the  guard  relieved  has  to  redouble  the  service  of  six  men, 
and  in  consequence  it  is  indispensable  to  increase  this  garri- 
son, as  I  expose  to  Ilis  Majesty  in  my  representation  of  the 
27th  of  August  of  1761,  dealing  with  the  subject  of  the  demo- 
lition of  the  Castle  of  A  ray  a. 

90.  T  said  likewise  in  my  note  9  that  all  the  neighborhood 
of  the  fortress  forms  a  militia  company  of  tifty-eight  men  in 
arms,  including  the  officers,  without  excepting  whites  nor 
mixed ;    that   said    company    of  militiamen   is  the  one  that 


77 

■works  in  all  the  garrison,  on  account  of  the  frequent  detach- 
ments of  the  regular  troop  to  the  Mission  of  the  Catalan  Ca- 
puchins, to  control  the  Indians  in  their  incursions,  and  other 
occurrences  of  the  fortress. 

91.  By  the  statements  of  the  above-mentioned  acts  of  the 
visit  in  said  note  9,  it  is  shown  that  there  were  ninety  fami- 
lies, including  those  of  the  regular  troop,  and  in  all  five  hun- 
dred and  thirty-five  souls,  occupying  sixty-six  houses.  Out  of 
these  one  was  burned,  but  an  increase  of  eight  more  and  the 
roofing  with  tiles  of  ten  have  been  noticed,  giving  an  actual 
■existence  of  seventy-three  houses,  situated  in  the  order  shown 
in  figure  2  of  the  accompanying  map.  Besides  the  eight 
newly-built  houses  and  the  ten  roofed  with  tiles,  a  great  deal 
of  stone  has  been  gathered  for  the  church  that  is  in  project  to 
be  built  of  stone  and  mortar,  and  in  the  country  three  or  four 
farms  have  been  added  to  the  twenty-five  and  twenty-six  ex- 
isting at  the  time  of  said  visit,  the  only  increase  noticed  since 
that  time. 

92.  In  my  memorandum  and  last  chapters  of  notes  9  and  10 
I  have  briefly  exposed,  by  way  of  notice,  the  state  of  the  new 
cities  of  Real  Corona  and  Ciudad  Real,  the  establishment  of 
which  in  the  Province  of  Guayana  was  undertaken  by  the 
chief  of  squadron  Don  Joseph  de  Iturriaga,  and  that  shall  have 
to  fail  and  ought  not,  therefore,  to  be  counted  as  settlements 
of  said  Province. 

93.  I  could  not  explain  in  said  notes,  nor  can  I  do  so  here, 
the  use  or  uselessness  of  said  new  cities,  the  expenses  that  they 
may  have  occasioned  and  do  occasion  to  the  Royal  Treasury 
nor  the  advantages  nor  disadvantages  to  these  Provinces,  as 
that  subject  is  fully  under  the  competence  of  the  chief  of 
squadron  Don  Joseph  de  Iturriaga,  whom  His  Majesty  has 
allowed  the  necessar}^  powers  for  the  formation  of  the  settle- 
ments that  he  considers  properto  undertake,  commanding  the 
A'icero}^  Governor  and  Justices  of  the  Kingdom  to  fticilitate 
what  he  requires  in  carrying  out  the  various  charges  intrusted 
to  him  for  the  Royal  service,  as  shown  by  the  Royal  Cedule, 
dated  at  Buen  Retiro,  on  the  14th  of  September  of  1753.  I 
am   not   conscious  of  having  exceeded    my  limits  in   what, 


by  way  of  notice,  as  settlements  of  the  government  in  my 
eiiarge,  I  have  exposed  in  the  above-mentioned  notes,  nor  that 
I  should  exceed  any  in  representing  the  condition  in  which 
said  cities  are  found  to-day,  and  that  of  San  Fernando  which 
he  undertook  in  the  territory  of  the  new  Kingdom  of  Santa 
Fe,  as  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  show,  in  the  course  of 
this  representation,  the  insurmountable  difhculties  found  in 
the  way  of  establishing  Spanish-  populations  in  remote  coun- 
tries, without  anticipating  the  pacification  of  the  Indians  in- 
habiting the  country,  and  that  after  said  Indians  are  reduced 
these  Spanish  settlements  are  easily  formed  without  any  great 
expense  of  the  Royal  Treasury,  and  only  on  the  allowance  of 
the  privileges  and  franchises  granted  by  His  Majesty  and  by  the 
Royal  laws,  for  the  good  government  of  these  his  dominions. 

94.  And  I  say  that  in  virtue  of  the  power  with  which  the 
above  mentioned  chief  is  invested  he  undertook  to  establish  in 
the  Province  of  Guayana  the  cities  Real  Corona  and  Ciudad 
Real.  For  the  first  one  he  commissioned  with  the  title  of 
Captain  Settler,  and  under  his  orders  one  Alonso  de  Soto,  to 
whom  he  assigned  the  annual  salary  of  §500  to  be  paid  by  the 
Treasury  of  Santa  Fe,  and  I  do  not  know  whether  he  lias- 
drawn  said  pay.  On  account  of  the  Royal  Treasury  a  church 
and  about  twenty-five  houses  were  built  and  assigned  to  the  new 
settlers  brought  from  the  Provinces  of  Caracas  and  Barcelona. 
In  order  to  obtain  them  they  were  offered  by  the  said  Alonso 
de  Soto  many  other  advantages,  out  of  proportion  and  in  dis- 
regard of  the  Royal  regulations  about  the  new  settlements. 
But  as  the  new  settlers  were  not  allowed  what  had  been 
promised,  and  under  the  experience  of  irregular  extortions^ 
they  gave  up  tlie  new  city,  recrossed  the  Orinoco  and  returned 
to  their  old  homes,  from  where  they  had  been  removed,  and 
they  gave  me  an  account  of  what  they  hail  d(jne  and  their 
reasons  for  so  doing. 

95.  I  Ibuinl  that  it  was  im[)ossiblc  to  com})el  tliem  to  remain 
in  a  settlement  that  did  not  suit  them  and  it  was  not  in  accord- 
ance with  the  Royal  regulations  to  force  them,  besides  many 
otlier  reasons  that  I  omit  and  will  explain  if  necessary.  For 
tlu-  purpose  of  serving  God  and  the  King  I  found  proper  tc^ 


79 

gather  all  of  said  neighbors  in  the  settlement  of  Pao  situated 
on  the  plains  of  Barcelona,  where  they  are  suited,  and  from 
where  many  of  them  had  been  removed,  induced  by  the  offers 
of  advantages  promised  by  Soto  at  the  new  settlement. 

96.  The  steps  that  I  took  to  meet  the  requests  that  I  received 
and  the  reason  given  for  the  abandonment  of  the  new  city  are 
shown  at  folios  162  to  177  of  the  accompanying  evidence  of 
the  non-existence  of  the  said  Ciudad  de  Real  Corona  and  the 
irregular  beginning  of  the  same. 

97.  Of  the  establishment  of  Ciudad  Real  de  Uyapi,  said  chief 
of  squadron  Don  Joseph  de  Iturriaga  took  charge,  and  by  the 
repeated  information  I  have  received  it  consists  to-day  of  a 
church,  paid  by  the  Royal  Treasury,  but  already  fully  ruined, 
and  fifty  houses  built  and  paid  by  the  same  Royal  Treasury, 
thirty  of  them  are  deserted  and  empty  and  twenty  are  occupied 
by  Don  Joseph  de  Iturriaga,  his  family,  sergeant,  chaplain, 
and  other  clerks,  depending  on  him,  in  the  expedition  of 
boundaries,  that  remain  there  yet,  the  Sergeant  Major  of  this 
fortress  and  the  detachment  of  this  garrison  under  the  orders 
of  the  above  mentioned  chief  together  with  six  or  seven  fam- 
ilies. One  aggregated  to  that  of  Don  Joseph  de  Iturriaga, 
another  of  a  Dutchman  (very  injurious  there)  called  Adrian, 
two  of  the  island  of  Margarita,  and  three  who  were  formerly  at 
the  settlement  of  Cabruta ;  and  all  are  supported  at  the  cost  of 
the  Royal  Treasury. 

Such  is  the  condition  of  the  Ciudad  Real,  without  any  hopes 
of  any  greater  advantages,  but  the  promise  of  a  total  dissolu- 
tion at  the  time  of  the  absence  of  the  said  Don  Joseph  de  Itur- 
riaga, the  only  one  who  has  it  in  existence  for  his  family  and 
those  who  depend  on  him,  as  the  seven  families  remaining 
to-day  will  give  it  up  as  soon  as  their  rations  fail,  and  the  rest 
will  quit  whenever  they  are  allowed  to  do  so. 

98.  The  city  of  San  Fernando,  founded  by  the  third  com- 
missioner, Don  Joseph  Solano,  was  still  more  unfortunate  than 
the  two  preceding  cities,  as  most  of  the  settlers  perished.  This 
city  has  been  placed  above  the  Vichada  River,  shown  by  the 
general  map  on  the  banks  of  the  Orinoco,  within  the  territory 
of  the  government  of  Santa  Fe,  inhabited  by  Indians  still  to 


80 

!»('  ri'ihu'od.  The  lirst  settlers  were  coiiij)elk'(l  to  go  from  tlie 
rroviiice  of  Caracas,  and  some  dtlicr  reluctant  }>crsons,  not 
exactly  enchained  as  the  former.  l)ut  a  strong  detachment  was 
in  the  custody  of  ])oth  settlers,  from  the  garrisons  of  Cumana 
and  Araya,  the  whole  of  t  hem  under  the  orders  and  direction  of 
the  third  Commissioner,  Don  Joseph  Solano. 

99.  On  account  of  the  opening  and  clearing  of  the  woods, 
for  the  establishment  of  the  new  settlement,  and  the  bad  cli- 
mate on  the  banks  of  the  Orinoco  River,  witli  tlie  extreme 
scarcity  of  victuals,  the  greatest  portion  of  the  unwilling  set- 
tlers perished,  together  with  some  of  the  soldiers  detached  for 
their  custody,  making  in  all  150  fatalities,  during  the  time  of 
the  residence  there  of  Don  Josei»h  Solano,  after  his  withdrawal 
and  shortly  after  the  retirement  of  the  military  detachment, 
leaving  the  miserable  settlers  in  that  desert,  without  })rovisions 
nor  spiritual  attendance,  without  any  escort,  and  destitute  of 
all  human  help,  with  the  Indians  at  their  back,  the  great  Ori- 
noco in  their  front,  and  no  embarkations  whatever  suitable  for 
the  navigation. 

100.  For  a  i'aw  days  they  remained  in  that  i»lace  under  the 
greatest  affliction,  but,  pressed  by  want,  they  went  inland, 
and  no  traces  have  been  left  or  signs  of  what  became  of 
them.  The  remaining  .settlers  went  down  the  river  in  small 
Ijoats,  two  of  which  were  lost  and  the  people  drowned,  with  the 
exception  of  a  good  swimmer,  who  brought  the  news  of  the 
misfortune;  four  or  five  others  reached  the  Missions  of  the 
Jesuits,  where  their  wants  were  attended,  and  thence  they  pro- 
ceeded to  the  plains  of  the  Province  of  Caracas  and  Barcelona, 
where  they  are  full  of  precautions  to  avoid  their  being  appre- 
hended again.  That  was  tlie  end  of  the  city  of  San  Fernando, 
and  shows  the  great  dilliculty  and  irre[)arable  injuries  of  un- 
dertaking any  settlement  in  ])laeess(j  remote  and  desert  before 
being  reduced. 

101.  It  the  settlements  in  distant  })laces,  deserted  and  not 
reduced,  are  diiHcult,  their  establishment,  after  the  Indians  are 
pacified,  is  very  easy,  and  of  no  expense  to  the  Koyal  Treas- 
ury, as  it  is  shown  to-day  in  the  same  Province  of  Guayana 


81 

with  the  new  settlement  of  San  Antonio  de  Upata,  which  com- 
menced in  the  year  of  1762,  for  tlie  following  reasons  : 

102.  Having  undertaken  my  general  visit,  in  the  year  1761, 
and  while  making  that  of  the  Missions  in  that  Province  in 
charge  of  the  Reverend  Catalan  Capuchin  Fathers,  and  with 
the  knowledge  and  examination  of  the  fertile  lands  occupied 
by  the  establishment  inland,  distant  from  the  banks  of  the 
Orinoco  River,  fit  for  breeding  cattle  and  every  kind  of  farm- 
ing and  for  sugar-cane  and  cocoa  plantations,  in  a  temperate 
climate,  healthy,  and  free  from  the  insects  produced  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Orinoco  River,  I  had  a  conference  with 
the  Prior  of  the  Community  about  the  importance  of  the 
establishment  of  one  or  more  Spanish  settlements  to  answer 
for  our  safety  and  residence  of  the  Missions,  as  well  as  a  bar- 
rier to  the  Dutch  Colonies  and  defence  of  the  fortress  of  Guay- 
ana,  that  ought  to  be  abundantly  provided  with  the  products 
of  said  Spanish  settlement  to  be  established,  so  as  not  to  have 
said  fortress  dependent  on  the  short  crops  and  Indian  farms 
as  at  present. 

103.  My  proposition  was  satisfactorily  heard  by  the  Mis- 
sioners  who  promised  with  pleasure  on  their  part  to  attend  to 
the  spiritual  wants  of  the  new  settlers,  and  keep  an  eye  on  their 
operations  and  advancement,  feeding  them  with  bread  and  beef 
for  one  year  and  facilitating  Indian  laborers  free  for  the  build- 
ing of  houses,  churches,  and  sowing  the  first  plants,  supplying 
them  with  free  transportation  and  the  use  of  horses  for  tlieir 
baggage  from  the  fortress  to  the  new  settlement,  and  having 
the  said  horses  ready  to  receive  the  families,  at  the  time  of  their 
landing,  so  as  not  to  have  to  stop  at  the  fortress ;  and  on  my 
side  taking  care  of  soliciting  persons  willing  to  go  to  the  set- 
tlement, sure  of  the  fertility  of  the  grounds  in  that  region.  Of 
all  of  what  may  inform  Father  Fr.  Fidel  de  Santo,  then  Prefect 
of  said  Missions  and  now  the  Attorney-General  of  the  same, 
residing  at  the  Court. 

104.  Having  returned  to  this  capital  I  made  propositions  to 
several  persons  to  send  explorers  of  their  own  choice  and  in- 
spect the  lands  and  examine  other  circumstances,  and  after 

Vol.  I,  Ven. — 6 


82 

being  sure  of  the  fertility,  salubrity,  and  other  conditions,  to 
send  twenty-four  families,  going  of  their  own  free  will  and  with- 
out the  least  expense  to  the  treasurer,  as  it  was  done,  and  they 
reached  (iuayana  in  safety,  ami  fi'oin  there  they  were  taken  to 
the  i)rojected  phice  for  the  new  settlement,  between  the  Mis- 
sions of  Aha  (rracia  and  Copapui  shown  in  the  general  map, 
at  two  hours'  journey  from  AUa  Gracia,  and  nine  to  ten  leagues 
from  the  fortress  of  Guayana  where  they  are  at  present,  after 
having  built  twenty-one  houses,  the  church  with  His  Divine 
Majesty  already  inaugurated,  a  condition  never  attained  by 
the  cities  of  Real  Corona,  Ciudad  Real,  nor  San  Fernando. 

105.  Besides  the  above-mentioned  twenty-four  families, 
thirteen  more  were  ready  to  set  out,  but  they  are  discouraged 
and  have  suspended  their  voyage,  on  account  of  the  news 
generally  spread  in  tliese  Provinces  that  the  Province  of 
Guayana  is  being  de})0pulate(l.  In  that  case  I  will  not  doubt 
that  the  new  settlement  of  San  Antonio  may  partake  of  a 
similar  fate,  on  account  of  being  exposed  to  the  incursions  of 
the  Indians,  who  may  not  be  to-day  in  fear  of  the  troops  of 
the  fortress.  But  if  it  is  not  depoi^ulated  (as  I  expect  His 
Majesty  will  command  it)  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  new  popu- 
lation will  be  the  beginning  of  other  settlements,  and  the  great 
horror  of  the  insalubrity  of  the  climate  of  that  Province  Avill 
disappear,  followed  by  many  temporal  and  spiritual  advan- 
tages and  the  pacification  of  the  many  Indians  contained  in 
said  Pnjvinee,  and  the  benefit  of  its  fertile  and  abundant  soils, 
upon  whicli  a  relial)le  iufonnation  may  be  had  from  the  Rev- 
erend Fr.  Fidel  de  Santo,  and  it  will  lead  to  a  great  deal  of 
good — His  Majesty's  support  of  the  Ijodies  of  Missioners,  as  I 
have  requested,  and  it  a})pears  in  the  accompanying  proceed- 
ings— and  will  expose  in  my  third  part  of  this  representation. 

lOG.  Another  similar  case  happens  in  this  Province  of  Cu- 
mana  as  an  evidence  of  the  difficulty  of  establishing  population 
in  places  where  the  Indians  have  not  been  reduced,  and  tlie 
unfortunate  result  of  overlooking  this  condition. 

107.  By  old  and  repeated  Royal  Cedules  His  Majesty  has 
decided  to  make  one  or  more  settlements  on  the  banks  of  the 


83 

Ouarapiche  River,  so  as  to  protect  the  rear  of  this  Province 
and  that  of  Barcelona,  avoiding  the  entrance  of  foreigners 
and  the  frauds  of  the  residents. 

108.  In  consequence  the  Governor,  Don  Joseph  Carreflo, 
undertook  the  settlement  of  the  village  of  San  Carlos,  for 
which  a  few  families  commenced  to  establish  their  residence 
on  the  southern  bank  of  said  Guarapiclie  River ;  but  they  soon 
desisted  from  the  enterprise  on  account  of  the  assault  by  wild 
Indians  supported  by  the  French,  and, for  want  of  a  greater 
number  of  settlers  who  would  dare  to  keep  the  place. 

109.  In  time  of  the  Government  of  Don  Juan  de  la  Tornera 
an  estal)lishment  was  undertaken  on  the  northern  ])ank  of  said 
Ouarapiche  River,  called  the  city  of  Maturin,  which  could  not 
stand,  on  account  of  the  want  of  population  of  those  territories 
and  the  indifferent  safety  of  the  Indians  recently  settled  in 
that  neighborhood. 

110.  As  a  result  of  my  general  visit,  and  sure  of  the  exten- 
.sion  and  fertility  of  the  land  at  the  south  of  this  Province,  with 
high  mountains,  near  the  banks  of  the  Guarapiche  and  the  im- 
portance of  that  place  for  one  or  more  Spanish  settlements,  to 
avoid  the  clandestine  traffic  carried  on  through  that  river,  (as 
explained  by  note  2  of  my  memorandum,)  I  commenced  to  in- 
fluence several  parties  to  go  to  that  settlement,  promising  the 
portions  of  fertile  land  and  the  other  privileges  granted  by  the 
laws  to  the  new  settlers.  Several  persons  having  an  intention 
to  settle  there  have  examined  said  land  and  ascertained  its 
fertility  and  extension  for  cattle  farms  as  well  as  sugar-cane  and 
cocoa  plantations,  and  there  are  about  40  families  already 
enlisted  in  this  city,  Barcelona  and  its  plains,  besides  many 
others,  in  expectation  of  the  progress  of  the  settlement  to 
follow  their  turn. 

111.  I  have  already  appointed  a  captain  settler  who  awaits 
my  approval  of  the  site  in  which  to  found  the  new  city  which 
is  in  Maturin,  where  it  was  undertaken  by  Tornera.  I  will 
carry  out  the  plan,  as  soon  as  my  many  occupations  permit,  not 
entertaining  any  doubt  of  the  success,  for  there  is  no  fear  now 
of  any  embarrassment  opposed  by  the  Indians,  as  all  the  sur- 
rounding settlements  in  that  neighborhood  are  under  a  Mission 


84 

and  well   trained  and   rc<luc'ed  formally  in  tlic  way  of  cateclii- 
sation. 

112.  Once  ;^aid  city  is  settled  as  intende(l,  thei'e  is  no  doui>t 
that  other  settlements  will  follow,  as  the  lands  invite,  with  their 
many  advantages,  new  settlers  from  these  Provinces  and 
and  even  from  Caracas.  Witliin  twenty  or  twenty-five  years 
we  may  expect  a  production  of  as  much  cocoa  or  very  little 
less  than  what  is  produced  in  that  of  Caracas.  The  present 
case  shows  that  the  countries  after  being  pacified,  may  be 
settled  with  very  little  diligence  and  more  facility,  and  that  that 
is  j)ractical»le.  withont  the  least  expense  to  thelloyal  Treasury 
and  only  by  the  inducements  of  the  grants  and  privileges 
allowed  by  law. 


Chapter  X. 

The  fortress  of  Guayana  is  the  most  important  strongJiold  held  by 
the  King  our  Lord  in  these  his  American  dominionfi,  Havana 
and  Vera  Cruz  only  excepted. 

1.  The  more  or  less  estimation  of  a  settled  place  is  regulated 
by  the  commerce  and  wealth  it  contains,  its  strength,  extent, 
and  usefulness  of  the  territory  defended.  Those  are  the  rea- 
sons that  recommend  Havana  and  ^"era  Cruz,  without  contro- 
versy, the  most  important  held  by  the  l\ing  in  .Vmerica. 

2.  The  fortress  of  Guayana  has  no  claim  to  any  estimation 
by  its  contents,  as  they  are  miserable,  as  shown  by  the  exposi- 
tioii  of  the  preceding  chapters,  being  of  considerable  more 
value  in  this  respect  the  fortresses  of  Carthagena,  Panama,  La 
Guaira,  Puerto  Cabello,  Buenos  Aires,  and  all  the  rest  held  by 
His  Majesty,  with  the  exception  of  Puerto  Bello,  with  which 
Guayana  niay  be  com|)ared. 

3.  The  stronghold  of  the  garrison  can  not  be  taken  into  con- 
sideration at  present,  although  the  castle  of  San  Francisco,  in 
point  of  situation,  resistance  of  its  walls,  difficulty  for  an  attack 
and  other  circumstances  ex])lained  in  the  foregoing  chapter  is 


85 

a  somewhat  regular  fortification,  becomes  useless  by  the  want  of 
defence  of  the  Padrastro,  from  where  a  dozen  muskets  may 
surrender  it,  as  has  been  already  stated. 

4.  On  account  of  the  extent  and  value  defended  by  the 
fortress,  no  other  of  the  many  held  by  the  King,  except  Vera 
Cruz,  can  compete  with  it,  because  all  the  other  fortresses  pro- 
tect ports,  but  do  not  prevent  the  landing  on  the  coast  nor  the 
entrance  of  the  enemies,  introducing  their  commerce  in 
diverse  Provinces  more  or  less  indefensible.  On  the  contrary, 
the  fortress  of  Guayana  is  the  masterpiece  of  the  defence  of  its 
own  Province  and  those  of  Cumana,  Barcelona,  Caracas,  Bari- 
nas,  Santa  Fe,  Popoyan  and  Quito,  countries  under  the  control 
and  traffic  facilities  of  the  grand  Orinoco  River,  having  no 
other  defended  or  fortified  place  so  advantageously  situated  as 
this  fortress  is  to-day.  If  it  is  abandoned  or  lost,  the  nation 
holding  it  might  control  freeh'  said  Provinces  and  that  of 
Ouavana.  The  enemv  could  never  succeed  in  doing;  so  while 
the  fortress  is  held  and  well  fortified. 

5.  I  will  exemplify  this  case,  comparing  this  place  with  those 
of  Havana  and  Vera  Cruz,  that  have  no  equal  either  with  those 
of  La  Guaira,  Puerto  Cabello,  Buenos  Aires,  Montevideo  nor  the 
others  of  the  southern  sea,  but  only  with  that  of  Carthagena, 
considered  to  be  of  the  greatest  importance  after  the  two  first 
quoted  and  of  less  advantage  than  the  fortress  of  Guayana, 
for  although  that  one  may  be  more  recommendable,  on  ac- 
count of  the  commerce  and  wealth  it  contains  and  the  strength 
of  its  fortifications,  it  is  not  b}''  any  means  covering  all  the 
territory  defended  by  this  fortress,  being  surpassed  in  that 
most  important  point,  which  I  will  show  in  order  to  have  it 
done  at  the  earliest  possible  convenience,  explaining  briefly 
the  favorable  and  unfavorable  circumstances  of  the  fortress  of 
Carthagena,  and  then  I  will  compare  them  with  the  advantages 
possessed  by  the  fortress  of  La  Guaira,  so  as  to  allow  the  pref- 
erence in  being  fortified  like  that  one. 

6.  The  port  of  Carthagena  was  very  well  fortified  before  the 
British  invasion,  and  His  Majesty  has,  since  that  time,  ex- 
pended large  amounts  of  money  to  increase  its  fortifications 
and  secure  it  against  another  attack  as  the  last  one,  l)elieving 


86 

that  said  fortress  is  precisely  tlie  key  of  the  Kingiloiu  of  Santa 
Fe.  And  what  is  defended  but  tlie  fortress  of  Carthagena  be- 
sides its  own  contents?  Does  it  defend  the  entrance  |of  the 
Magdalena  River  by  an  enemy?  Not  at  all,  as  an  entrance 
could  be  made  through  the  Province  of  Santa  Martha,  where 
the  mouth  of  said  river  stands. 

7.  Does  the  fortress  prevent  the  navigation  of  said  river  by 
strangers?  Nothing  of  the  kind  ;  as,  from  Carthagena  to  the 
Barranca  (bank)  of  the  King,  the  nearest  margin  to  Cartha- 
gena, there  is  a  distance  of  12  leagues  by  land  and  20  through 
the  ditch. 

8.  Are  the  20  leagues  through  the  ditch  or  the  12, by 
land  defended  by  that  fortress  so  as  to  keep  free  and  safe  the 
communication  with  the  Magdalena  lliver?  Not  in  the  least,, 
as  both  ways  are  at  the  mercy  of  an  enemy  who  may  land  on 
several  points  and  intercept  both  ways  at  a  short  distance 
without  being  stopx)ed  by  the  fortress. 

9.  After  the  loss  of  the  fortress  of  Carthagena  could  the  ene- 
mies prevent  the  subjects  of  the  King  from  navigating  the 
Magdalena  River?  With  difficulty,  unless  Barranca  were  for- 
tified and  a  large  garrison  kept  there  with  j)ro])er  vessels  to 
o})pose  those  trying  to  go  up  the  river,  before  said  Barranca  of 
the  King,  and  not  being  so  held  an  enemy  could  enter  through 
the  mouth  of  said  river  and  go  up  from  Santa  Martha  as'far 
as  the  town  of  Honda. 

10.  If  the  fortress  of  Carthagena  were  lost,  could  the  enemies 
go  inland  and  introduce  their  commerce  by  land  to  the  King- 
dom of  Santa  Fe?  That  is  impossible,  as  from  the  Province  of 
Carthagena  to  the  Kingdom  of  Santa  Fe,  all  the  way  is  cov- 
ered by  a  chain  of  inaccessible  mountains,  cut  by  large  rivers 
and  sierras  closed  to  traffic,  as  there  is  not  an  open  road  at 
present,  nor  any  one  found  practicable,  so  that  the  only  way 
left  is  the  Magdalena  River,  Could  this  river  be  freely  navi- 
gated by  the  foreigners  in  control  of  the  fortress  of  Cartha- 
gena and  Barranca  of  the  King?  It  is  as  difficult  as  by  land, 
for,  at  every  step,  their  progress  might  be  dis})uted,  having  no 
place  where  the  river  might  be  so  wide  as  not  to  be  exposed 
to  cross  fires  by  an   artillery  of  12-pounders,  and   in  most  of 


87 

them  of  6-pounders,  and  in  the  straight  place  of  Carare  it  may 
be  defended  by  muskets.  Besides,  this  river  can  not  be  navi- 
gated under  sails,  nor  by  every  kind  of  vessel,  but  only  those 
lit  for  it,  and  called  "  champanes,"  at  the  point  of  poles,  close 
to  the  banks  and  the  woods,  to  avoid  the  force  of  the  current, 
which  makes  the  navigation  of  that  river  so  protracted  as  to 
require  from  thirty-five  to  forty  days  to  reach  the  town  of 
Honda,  at  the  time  when  the  river  is  low  and  more  propitious. 
When  it  is  full  it  takes  two  or  three  months,  adding  to  what 
has  been  said  that  they  must  go  in  front  of  the  town  of  Monpos, 
to  Tamalamaque  and  other  settlements  and  farms  on  the  banks 
of  said  river,  and  through  the  strait  of  Carare,  where  stoning 
might  be  sufficient  to  stop  and  prevent  the  pass  of  an  enemy 
on  board  said  champanes,  which  nobody  could  manage  with 
the  ability  and  facilities  displayed  by  the  Indians  used  to  their 
management. 

11.  After  overcoming  the  difficulty  of  the  river,  though  mor- 
ally impossible,  it  remains  to  overcome  afterwards  that  of  the 
land,  for  which  it  is  indispensable  to  secure  horse  transporta- 
tion at  the  town  of  Honda,  to  go  through  rough  and  difficult 
mountains,  taking  about  eight  days  to  reach  Santa  Fe,  and 
well  understood  that  horses  or  mules  are  not  always  found  at 
the  town  of  Honda,  as  there  is  no  subsistence  possible  there 
for  cattle,  and  it  is  necessary  to  bring  them  from  the  plains  of 
Santa  Fe  to  take  the  loads  carried  by  water  up  to  the  town  of 
Honda,  as  it  is  well  known  to  those  conversant  with  the  traffic 
of  that  road.  These  circumstances  make  impossible  the  intro- 
duction not  only  of  an  enemy,  but  likewise  of  any  kind  of  goods. 
From  the  Kingdom  and  other  Provinces  they  come  down  to 
Carthagena,  with  the  liberty  of  traffic  with  strangers,  precisely 
through  the  Magdalena  River. 

12.  Allowing  the  case  of  the  loss  of  the  fortress  of  Carthagena 
and  the  fortification  of  Barranca  by  an  enemy,  so  as  not  to 
allow  any  river  communication,  should  the  city  of  Santa  Fe 
and  the  other  Provinces  be  prevented  from  receiving  any 
goods  or  sending  back  in  return  their  products?  It  would  so 
happen,  if  other  places  could  not  answer  the  purpose,  such  as 
Maracaibo,  Puerto  Cabello,  La  Guaira,  and  Cumana,  although 


88 

involving  so  niiu'li  l;il)()r  and  expense  to  an  amount  beyond 
limit,  if  there  was  not  a  recourse  to  the  great  Orinoco  liiver, 
through  which  with  less  expense  and  labor  than  through  the 
Magdalena  River,  we  could  introduce  in  the  Kingdom  of  Santa 
Fe  and  other  Provinces  all  kinds  of  merchandise,  with  facil- 
ities for  the  return  of  all  products,  and  moneys  produced  which 
are  carried  to-day  through  the  Magdalena  River  to  Carthagena. 

13.  If  by  the  defense  of  the  Magdalena  River  the  foreigners 
and  their  commerce  with  the  Kingdom  of  Santa  Fe  may  be 
stopped,  without  any  need  of  the  fortresses  of  Carthagena,  and 
even  when  said  city  were  lost  and  Barranca  fortified,  the  com- 
munication through  the  Orinoco  River  should  keep  it  open,  at 
less  expense  with  the  Kingdom  of  Santa  Fe  and  the  other 
l*rovinces,  guarded  by  said  fortress  of  Carthagena,  for  what 
purpose  was  such  an  amount  of  wealth  laid  out  in  fortifying  the 
same  and  keeping  it  in  such  a  high  esteem?  It  is  the  guard 
of  the  port,  the  best  on  all  that  coast,  and  the  onh'  one  where 
any  kind  of  vessels,  no  matter  how  large  or  how  many,  can  get 
in,  and  it  keeps  all  of  its  contents,  as  a  general  depot  of  all  the 
merchandize  received  from  Europe  and  distributed  afterwards 
through  the  same  Province,  and  by  the  Magdalena  River,  to 
Santa  Fe,  Popoyan,  and  Quito,  bringing  l)ack  the  funds  and 
products  from  tlie  same  Provinces,  througli  the  same  river,  to 
Carthagena,  where  tbey  are  kept  until  forwarded  to  Europe, 
and  this  commerce  is  done  through  tiic  port,  fortress  and  city 
of  Carthagena,  held  in  such  high  value  as  to  be  worthy  of  the 
strongest  defenses  and  fortifications. 

14.  It  seems  to  me  that  I  have  shown  the  reasons  of  useful- 
ness or  uselessness  of  the  fortress  of  Carthagena,  and  it 
remains  to  explain  which  are  those  equivalent  or  superior,  on 
behalf  of  the  fortress  of  Guayana,  by  far  to  be  preferred  to 
that  one,  and  I  will  follow  the  order  of  the  preceding  answers, 
omitting  the  interrogations  only  wanted  there. 

15.  It  has  been  stated  in  the  first  place,  that  the  fortress  of 
Carthagena  does  not  defend  the  entrance  of  enemies  in  the 
Magdalena  River,  as  said  river  disembogues  within  the  Prov- 
ince of  Santa  Martha,  not  so  the  fortress  of  Guayana,  the  only 
one  defending  the  entrance  of  all  the  Orinoco,  as  it  stands  situ- 


89 

•a'ted,  close  to  the  islands,  where  it  begins  to  expand  and  divide 
into  a  labyrinth  of  mouths  and  creeks,  as  seen  in  the  general 
map,  facilitating  through  various  ways  the  entrance  to  the  said 
fortress'  waters,  a  necessary  pass  for  the  navigation  of  the 
•Orinoco  River,  and  the  only  one  which  may  be  properl}^  forti- 
fied, as  there  is  the  narrowest  body  of  the  river,  except  the 
Angostura,  which  does  not  guard  it  wholly,  as  shown  in  tlie 
general  accompanying  map  forwarded  to  His  Majesty. 

IG.  I  have  likewise  stated  in  the  second  place  that  the 
fortress  of  Carthagena  does  not  prevent  the  enemies  from 
navigating  the  Magdalena  River,  on  account  of  the  distance  to 
its  nearest  margin  on  Barranca,  12^  leagues  by  land  and  20 
through  the  ditch.  On  the  contrarv,  the  fortress  of  Guavana 
stands  on  the  very  border  of  tiie  Orinoco  River,  and  is  the  only 
place  that,  when  well  fortified,  may  lully  defend  the  navigation 
and  stop  the  entrance  of  vessels,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  accom- 
panying general  map. 

17.  In  the  third  place,  I  have  stated  that  the  distance  of  20 
leagues  through  the  ditch,  or  12  by  land,  is  at  the  mercy  of 
enemies  who  may  land  on  different  parts  of  the  coast  and  cut 
up  both  ways,  for  which  the  fortress  can  not  afford  any  means 
of  resistance.  It  is  of  no  importance  to  the  fortress  of  Guayana 
the  landing  of  an  enemy,  as  the  means  of  subsistence  becomes 
impossible  without  taking  the  castle  of  San  Francisco  and  the 
mountain  of  Padrastro,  possessing  no  means  of  preventing  the 
■Orinoco  River's  navigation  or  of  availing  themselves  of  the 
same  if  the  said  fortifications  are  not  taken. 

18.  In  the  fourth  place,  once  the  fortress  of  Carthagena  lost, 
it  will  be  difficult  for  an  enemy  to  prevent  the  navigation  of 
the  Magdalena  River  by  the  vassals  of  His  Majesty,  unless  they 
fortify  Barranca,  or  keep  there  a  strong  detachment  and  ves- 
sels fit  to  oppose  those  intending  to  go  up  the  river  and  pass  in 
front  of  Barranca.  It  is  not  so  on  the  Orinoco  River,  kept  only 
by  a  well  fortified  fortress  without  any  need  of  other  defence 
nor  detachment.  If  the  enemies  would  take  it  they  could 
ieep  said  Orinoco  River  more  easily  and  at  a  less  expense 
•than  that  of  the  Magdalena  River. 


90 

10.  In  the  fifth  phice,  I  said  that  once  the  Carthagena  fort- 
ress lost  the  enemies  can  not  make  the  interior  commerce  by 
hind  with  the  Kingdom  of  Santa  Fe  nor  the  vassals  of  His 
Majesty  come  down  to  Carthagena,  as  there  is  no  open  road 
nor  is  there  any  possibility  of  opening  any,  through  the  inac- 
cessible mountains  intervening.  And  now  I  say  that  after  th& 
loss  of  the  fortress  the  enemies  are  at  liberty  to  communicate 
by  land  through  the  way  of  Cumana,  Barcelona,  Caracas, 
Barinas  and  Santa  Fe,  and  those  of  the  country  may  come  to 
the  fortress  and  extensive  banks  of  the  Orinoco  River,  being 
in  contact  with  said  Provinces,  from  the  headwaters  of  said 
river  and  the  extensive  plains  shown  by  the  accom})anving 
map  and  the  general  one  already  sent. 

20.  I  have  likewise  exposed  i-ii  the  sixth  place,  that  once  the- 
fortress  of  Carthagena  lost,  the  enemies  can  not  navigate  freely 
on  the  Magdalena  River,  as  it  will  be  easy  to  erect  strong- 
holds at  several  places  and  dispute  the  pass,  preventing  at  the 
same  time  the  people  of  the  country  from  going  down  to  Car- 
thagena and  trade  with  foreigners.  But,  if  the  fortress  were 
lost,  it  would  not  be  possible  to  prevent  the  foreigners  from 
navigating  the  river  at  their  pleasure.  The  Orinoco  River,  on 
account  of  its  great  breadth,  can  not  be  fortified  in  any  other 
place  than  the  present  spot,  where  tlie  fortress  stands,  and  at 
the  Angostura,  but  this  latter  spot  does  not  guard  the  whole  of 
the  Orinoco,  nor  the  Provinces  through  which  it  runs,  as  it 
is  shown  on  the  accompanying  map.  Nor  said  Angostura,  no 
matter  how  well  fortified  it  may  be,  could  be  defended  after 
the  loss  of  the  fortress.  An  evidence  of  this  point  is  furnished 
in  my  second  part,  in  answer  to  the  Royal  Order  of  the  27th 
of  May  of  last  year,  in  which  His  Majesty  orders  the  transfer  of 
the  present  city  of  Guayana  to  said  Angostura. 

21.  In  the  seventh  place,  I  have  said  that  the  river  Magda- 
lena is  only  fit  for  the  navigation  of  a  certain  kind  of  vessel 
called  champanes;  the  greatest  capacity  of  the  same  will  hold 
al)0ut  100  packages  of  ordinary  size  at  an  expense  of  S500  for 
the  transportation  from  Carthagena  or  the  Barranca  (of  the 
King)  to  the  town  of  Honda,  distant  respectively  from  80  to 
100  leagues.     They  are  not  propelled  by  sails  or  oars,  but  by 


91 

means  of  poles,  taking  from  thirty-five  to  forty  days  in  tlie 
favorable  season,  and  during  the  flood  season  from  two  to 
three  months.  At  the  Orinoco  there  are  greater  advantages, 
as  sloops  of  thirty-five  to  forty  tons  may  sail  and  go  up  the 
river  above  the  confluence  of  the  Meta,  up  to  a  place  where 
the  first  rapid  is  met,  where  the  Missions  of  the  Jesuits  are 
located,  as  shown  in  the  general  map,  and  by  way  of  the  rivers 
Vichada,  Meta,  Apure,  Sinaruco,  La  Portuguesa,  Pao,  Care  and 
others,  not  represented  in  the  general  map,  where  launches 
can  enter  and  carry  loads  more  or  less  like  the  champanes  of 
the  Magdalena  River,  going  inland  to  the  Provinces  of  Caracas,. 
Barinas  and  Santa  Fe ;  the  sloops  and  launches  may  sail, 
which  is  a  saving  of  money  and  time,  duplicating  the  trips  of 
the  champanes  and  carrying  more  loads  than  they  do. 

22.  In  the  eighth  place,  I  have  said  that  by  the  Magdalena 
River  the  town  of  Honda  is  reached,  and  from  there  to  the 
capital  of  Santa  Fe  it  is  necessary  to  go  through  very  steep 
and  rough  mountains,  and  the  loads  are  easily  escorted  and 
defended.  It  is  not  so  with  those  carried  on  the  Orinoco  River 
and  the  Meta,  Vichada  and  others,  running  through  extensive 
plains,  with  the  facilities  of  several  roads,  and  therefore  impos- 
sible to  be  escorted.  The  horses  or  mules  for  the  transporta- 
tion are  easily  obtained  in  the  prairies,  intervening  between 
the  mountains  and  the  Orinoco  River,  where  there  are  pasture 
grounds  in  abundance,  as  well  as  mules,  which  is  not  the  case 
at  the  town  of  Honda,  where  said  mules  are  to  be  brought 
from  the  plains  of  Santa  Fe. 

23.  I  have  likewise  exposed  in  the  ninth  place  that  if  the 
fortress  of  Carthagena  falls  in  the  hands  of  enemies  who  fortify 
and  hold  the  place  of  Barranca  (of  the  King),  the  pass  of  the 
Magdalena  River  is  stopped  for  the  vassals  of  His  Majesty 
to  transport  their  merchandise  from  the  Province  of  Santa 
Martha,  to  the  Kingdom  of  Santa  Fe,  but  that  at  the  same 
Magdalena  River  the  pass  of  foreigners  Avith  their  merchan- 
dise can  be  stopped,  and  those  of  the  country  prevented  from 
going  down  to  Carthagena*  to  trade  with  said  foreigners,  in 
which  case  the  Kingdom  of  Santa  Fe  and  the  Provinces  of 
Popayan  and  Quito  remain  in  communication   only  by  the- 


92 

Avay  of  the  Orinoco  River,  l)otli  for  the  transportation  of  the 
iiu'rcliandise  received,  as  well  as  for  the  return  of  the  proceeds 
and  the  products  of  said  countries,  niakintr  amends  for  the 
want  (jf  correspondence  through  the  fortress  of  Carthagena. 
But  if  the  fortress  of  Guayana  is  lost  there  is  no  remedy  for 
the  entrance  of  foreigners  as  far  as  Santa  Fe,  Popayan  and 
(i^uito,  with  their  merchandises  which  are  transported  to-day 
througii  the  Magdalena  River,  and  by  the  same  Orinoco  they 
could  bring  back  their  values  and  products  from  the  Provinces 
of  Barinas,  Caracas,  Barcelona  and  Cumana,  without  any  need 
of  the  same  foreigners  going  inland,  as  it  will  be  enough  that 
the  goods  be  taken  by  way  of  the  Orinoco  to  any  places  desired 
by  the  merchants  of  the  Province  who  will  be  the  real  im- 
porters of  the  same.  All  what  has  been  said  seems  to  be 
very  remote,  and  indeed  it  is  not  to  l)e  done  in  a  few  days  nor 
years,  but  if  the  door  is  opened  and  the  fortress  of  Guayana 
abandoned  it  is  all  very  practicable,  and  I  will  endeavor  to 
show  this  point  in  my  second  and  third  part. 

24.  In  the  tenth  place,  I  have  stated  that  the  port  of  Car- 
thagena admits  vessels  of  all  sizes,  no  matter  how  large  they 
are,  an  advantage  not  possessed  by  the  Orinoco  River,  but  for 
the  return  trip  trom  said  port  to  Europe  it  is  necessary  to  go 
to  Havana,  and  from  there  to  have  to  clear  the  clianncl  of  the 
Bahama  Island,  with  the  I'isks  and  terrors  known  to  nautical 
men,  until  the  channel  is  fully  cleared.  In  the  Orinoco  no 
vessels  can  enter  of  more  than  30  to  35  cannons  or  500  tons, 
but  there  is  another  advantage  that  is  not  possessed  by  Car- 
thagena, and  that  is,  that  as  the  land  is  more  to  the  eastward 
of  America,  the  return  to  Spain  is  easier,  on  the  straight  way, 
with  the  same  days  of  navigation,  as  from  Havana,  without 
the  least  risk  or  any  necessity  of  calling  at  any  other  port, 
until  the  anchors  are  cast  in  Europe. 

25.  In  the  eleventh  place,  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the  fort- 
Tess  of  Carthagena  is  very  important,  on  account  of  the  facility 
of  commerce,  as  a  central  depot  of  the  merchandise  from 
Europe  and  the  values  brought  down,  tlirough  the  Magdalena 
River,  from  the  Provinces  of  Santa  Fe,  Popoyan  and  Quito, 
and    for   that   reason   it   must  be  well  defended  and  fortified. 


93 

The  same  reasons,  in  favor  of  the  fortification  of  the  fort  of 
Carthagena,  strengthens  my  opinion  for  the  fortification  of  tliat 
of  Guayana,  which  if  lost,  tliere  is  no  doubt  that  the  foreigners 
would  introduce  by  way  of  the  Orinoco  River  the  necessary 
merchandise  for  said  Provinces  and  take  back  all  the  values 
brought  down  at  present  through  the  Magdalena  River  to 
Carthagena,  besides  those  from  the  Provinces  of  Barinas, 
Caracas,  Barcelona  and  Cumana,  making  of  less  service  said 
port  and  fortress  of  Carthagena  and  those  of  La  Guaira,  Puerto 
Cabello  and  Cumana,  on  account  of  the  greater  facility  and 
lower  price  of  transportation  to  all  said  Provinces,  through  the 
Orinoco  River,  by  which  their  products  that  have  not  the  same 
facility,  through  the  above-mentioned  ports,  will  be  transported. 

26.  If  it  is  alleged  that  the  best  climate  of  the  port  of 
Carthagena  and  the  Magdalena  River  aff'ords  a  sufiicient  ground 
for  the  preference  of  said  port  over  the  Orinoco  River  and  fort- 
ress of  Guayana,  I  answer  by  stating  that  it  is  not  so,  as  the 
port  of  Carthagena  has  not  been,  nor  is  it  at  present,  a  better 
climate  than  that  of  Guayana,  and  that  disadvantage  will  be 
partially  remedied  by  an  abundance  of  provisions,  of  which  it 
now  stands  in  need,  and  by  having  good  surgeons,  doctors, 
medicines,  and  other  conveniences  possessed  by  Carthagena, 
where,  in  spite  of  the  possession  of  all  these  facilities,  they 
are  subject  to  continual  epidemics. 

27.  The  Orinoco  River  is  very  healthy  as  compared  with 
that  of  Magdalena,  and  the  reason  is  because  the  navigation 
is  practicable  under  sails,  on  account  of  its  broad  width  .'ind 
ventilation  and  the  greater  capacity  and  cDnvenince  of  the 
vessels  for  travellers  and  passengers  ;  it  is  not  so  on  the  Mag- 
dalena, where  they  are  deprived  of  these  comforts  and  the 
vessels  are  smaller,  carrying  no  sails  nor  oars,  outside  of  the 
channel  of  the  river,  at  the  point  of  poles  on  the  banks  close 
to  the  woods,  under  great  difficulties  overcome  by  the  men  and 
passengers,  under  continual  showers  and  heat,  deprived  of  the 
winds,  on  account  of  their  close  proximity  to  the  borders  and 
the  elevation  of  the  mountains,  besides  the  inconvenience  of 
the  numberless  mosquitoes  and  other  insects,  incumbering  the 
vessels   on    account  of  the  constant  calm  prevailing  on  the- 


94 

river  banks.  These  inflictions  are  not  so  frequent  on  the 
Orinoco  River,  or  at  least  they  are  less  intense  and  more  toler- 
able, on  account  of  the  stron^^  winds  and  the  navigation  under 
sails  thi'ougli  the  main  cliannel. 

28.  Many  other  favorable  and  powerful  circumstances  might 
be  adduced  in  favor  of  the  fortress  of  Guayana  and  tlie  Orinoco 
River,  making  them  i:)referable  to  the  Magdalena  River  and 
the  fortress  of  Carthagena  ;  but  I  omit  tliem  so  as  not  to  make 
too  extensive  this  chapter,  although  it  will  remain  pending  to 
be  continued  in  my  second  and  third  parts,  in  wliich  I  will  be 
as  ijrief  as  possible,  as  it  will  take  a  long  time  to  enumerate  all 
tlie  circumstances  connected  with  this  subject. 

29.  In  justification  of  what  I  have  stated  in  this  chapter,  in 
favor  of  the  fortress  of  Guayana,  I  have  no  other  documents 
than  my  experience,  during  the  long  time  I  have  been  in 
America  in  the  service  of  His  Majesty,  having  had  particular 
reasons  for  my  observations  of  tlie  port  of  Carthagena,  its  cit}'" 
and  foi'titicalions,  as  well  as  the  distance  of  12  leagues  by  land 
and  20  through  the  ditch  from  said  city  to  Rarranca.  I  have 
gone  up  the  Magdalena  River,  on  Ijoard  of  the  cJumipanes,  as  far 
as  the  town  of  Honda,  and  from  there,  through  the  rough  road 
available  to  the  capital  of  Santa  Fe.  I  have  noticed  the  many 
roads  leading  from  the  capital  of  Santa  Fe  to  the  Orinoco 
River,  and  in  the  time  tliat  I  have  served  as  a  Governor  I 
have  traveled  through  the  sierras,  situated  towards  the  north 
and  coast  of  the  provinces  of  Curaana  and  Barcelona,  and  the 
plains  lying  at  the  south  of  said  sierras,  down  to  the  banks 
of  tlie  Orinoco  River.  I  have  likewise  traveled  through  the 
plains  of  the  Province  of  Caracas,  on  my  way  to  the  settlement 
of  ( 'abruta  and  the  Missions  of  the  Jesuits,  situated  in  the 
Province  of  Guayana,  from  M'here  I  came  down,  through  the 
Orinoco  River,  to  the  fortress,  and  after  having  visited  the 
Missions  of  the  Catalan  Capuchins,  the  settlement  and  fortifi- 
cation of  the  fortress,  I  embarked  and  went  down  to  the 
mouths  of  the  Orinoco,  going  through  the  Gulf  Triste,  the 
mouth  of  the  Guarapiche,  and  the  creeks  of  Santa  Isabel, 
landing  at  Colquar,  where  I  visited  the  Missions  of  this  prov- 
ince, under  the  charge  of  the  Aragon  Fathers.     As  a  result  of 


95 

my  travels  to  Cabruta  and  the  general  visit  I  am  well  posted 
ill  all  that  belongs  to  my  position  as  Governor.  I  formed  the 
general  map  which  I  have  addressed  to  His  Majesty,  and  if 
my  many  occupations  might  have  allowed  me  the  time  to 
make  a  fair  copy  of  the  general  map  of  the  Yiceroyalty  of 
Santa  Fe  that  I  have  formed  in  sketch,  I  should  make  more 
visible  all  the  contents  of  these  chapters  and  whatever  else  I 
omit,  so  as  not  to  make  it  too  extensive,  but  I  refer  to  the  ex- 
amination and  opinion  of  i)ractical  persons  that  His  Majesty 
may  appoint  for  the  investigation  of  all  that  I  have  said,  if  it 
will  meet  his  pleasure,  as  I  most  humbly  pray. 

30.  And  in  reference  to  the  greater  utility  and  preference 
wdiich  I  give  to  the  fortress  of  Guayana  over  all  the  other  for- 
tresses kept  by  the  King  in  America,  I  do  not  say  so  without 
being  well  posted,  for  I  have  seen  at  the  South  Pacific  those  of 
Valdivia,  Conception  and  Valparaiso  in  Chile,  and  those  of 
Callao,  and  I  have  a  sufficient  notice  of  what  are  those  of 
Panama,  Acapulco  and  Sonsonate.  On  the  north  I  have  seen 
those  of  Buenos  Ay  res,  Montevideo,  Carthagena,  La  Havana 
and  Cumana,  at  present  in  my  charge,  and  I  have  an  idea  of 
those  of  La  Guaira,  Puerto  Cabello,  Maracaibo,  Puerto  Bello 
and  the  Windward  Islands,  and  taking  all  in  all,  I  have  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  none  could  bring  as  great  loss  as  that  of 
the  fortress  of  Guayana,  and  that  if  the  enemies  would  take  it, 
their  possession  would  multiply  the  advantages  of  that  of  Sac- 
ramento, held  by  the  Portuguese  on  the  La  Plata  River,  which 
I  have  likewise  seen,  and  I  know  in  what  its  commerce  con- 
sists. 

31.  I  think  I  have  jDroved  with  sufficient  reasons  and  docu- 
ments all  that  I  proposed  to  show  by  m}^  No.  4  at  the  begin- 
ning of  this  consultation,  and  with  the  ten  chapters  contained 
in  this  first  part  and  other  documents  that  will  be  adduced,  I 
will  prove  by  the  second  and  third,  whatever  I  have  stated. 
That  is  my  purpose,  trying  to  avoid  confusion,  after  having 
anticipated  the  contents  of  said  ten  chapters. 


96 


Part  Second. 

1.  In  this  second  part  1  will  i)r()(luce  evidence  of  tlio  irrepar- 
able injury  which  might  follow  to  the  service  of  l)oth  Majesties 
from  the  enforcement  of  the  Royal  Order  of  the  27th  of  May 
of  17()2,  as  I  liave  stated  in  No.  5  at  the  be<^inning  of  this  con- 
sultation. In  order  to  do  so  clearly  and  with  the  fewest  words 
possible,  I  will  place  at  the  margin  in  said  Royal  Order,  and 
will  answer  its  contents,  showing  what  I  shall  have  to  expose, 
"with  several  instruments  that  I  will  quote,  and  the  ten  chap- 
ters of  the  first  part  of  its  numerated  paragraphs,  which  may 
be  necessary,  and  where  the  documents  I  niay  refer  to  will  be 
seen  and  comi)ared. 

Royal   Order. 

"  The  King  bearing  in  mind  what  your  honor  exposes  by  letter 
of  August  27th  of  last  year." 

2.  By  the  two  Royal  Orders  of  the  21st  of  July  of  1759  and 
13th  of  May  of  1760,  His  Majesty  was  kind  enough  to  point 
out  that  many  times  the  demolition  of  the  castle  of  Araya  had 
been  contemplated,  and  the  opinion  had  been  shown  that  I 
ought  to  expose  my  ideas,  as  to  the  utility  or  inutility  of  said 
fortification,  after  having  examined  by  all  possible  means  both 
bearings  of  the  subject,  so  as  to  come  to  a  final  conclusion  in 
the  case. 

3.  In  order  to  fulfill  my  commission  I  instituted  the  proceed- 
ings that  I  considered  necessary,  and  formed  a  plan  of  the 
location  of  the  castle,  the  salt  pits  lost  under  its  protection,  and 
the  surrounding  grounds.  On  tlie  27th  of  August  of  1751^ 
with  the  accompanying  proceedings  and  ])lan  I  represented  to 
His  Majesty,  the  inutility  of  said  fortification,  the  large  annual 
and  undue  expenses  involved  in  its  subsistence,  showing  my 
opinion  that  the  Royal  service  required  its  demolition. 

4.  1  likewise  represented  to  His  Majesty  that  if  it  was  His 
Royal  pleasure  to  demolish  said  castle  it  was  advisable  to 
transfer  the  two  bronze  culverins  of  said  fortress  to  that  of  San 
Francisco  de  Asis,  in  Guayana,  as  they  were  wanted  there  and 


97 

were  sufficient  to  control  the  full  In-eadth  of  the  Orinoco  River. 
That  it  was  indispensable  to  have  a  new  regulation  for  the 
p-arrison  of  this  fortress,  bv  adding  25  more  men.  The  fortress 
of  Guayana  is  more  important  and  requires  the  greatest  atten- 
tion of  His  Majesty,  being  imperative  to  increase  the  garrison 
with  one  more  captain,  one  lieutenant,  one  standard-bearer 
and  70  men,  including  the  corresponding  corporals  ;  but  in  no 
manner  the  garrison  of  Ara^^a  was  available  to  increase  that 
of  Guayana.  I  ask  His  Majesty  that  the  $41  received  there 
from  ]\Iexico  for  the  annual  pay  of  the  garrison  of  Araya  be 
continued  without  alteration,  in  order  to  pay  that  amount  to 
the  garrison  of  Cumana  and  increase  that  of  Guayana,  and 
escorting  the  Catalan,  Aragou  and  Observant  Missioners, 
preaching  the  Gospel  in  this  Province,  all  for  reasons  fullv 
explained  in  said  representation  and  tlie  chief  points  of  its 
contents. 

5.  By  the  Royal  Order  of  the  Otli  of  January  of  1702  His 
Majesty  kindly  instructed  me  to  ])roceed  to  the  demolition  of 
said  castle,  and  the  transfer  to  tliis  garrison  of  the  troops  of 
said  castle  and  the  utensils  of  said  fortress,  as  it  was  done  and 
reported  under  date  of  November  1st  of  last  year. 

6.  Lately,  and  by  the  present  Royal  Order,  I  am  instructed 
(among  other  things),  to  send  fifty-two  men  from  the  garrison 
of  Araya  to  the  fortress  of  Guayana,  fifty  to  the  island  of  Trin- 
idad, and  to  increase  the  garrison  of  this  place  with  twenty- 
five  more  men,  as  proposed  in  my  representation  of  the  27tli 
of  August,  and  that  those  remaining  from  the  garrison  of 
Araya  be  sent  for  the  greater  protection  of  Guayana,  besides 
the  fifty-two  before  mentioned.  To  these  points  I  will  refer  in 
the  regular  order  at  the  proper  time,  giving  better  reasons  than 
those  expressed  by  my  said  I'epresentation  of  the  27th  of  Au- 
gust, showing  the  impossibilities  opposing  the  march  of  these 
detachments. 

"And  the  advices  sent  to  His  Majesty  about  the  situation  of  the 
city  of  Guayana,  the  ])opulation  of  which  is  460  persons, 
including  the  garrisons  of  the  fort."' 

7.  I  do  not  know  upon  what  grounds  said  advices  have  been 

Vol.  1,  Vex. — 7 


98 

sent  to  Plis  Majesty,  imr  do  I  infsunir  ihat  they  IkhI  any  otlier 
object  in  view  than  thi'  IJoyal  service,  Imt  hy  the  t-ontents  of 
the  Royal  ( )r(ler  it  is  phiin  that  they  are  not  cntii'ely  accnrate 
and  show  no  knowledge  of  this  countiy  nor  of  what  may 
be  easy  or  impossible;  the  above  advices  have  been  sent  to 
His  Majesty  with  a  view  to  fortify  the  Orinoco  and  take  steps 
to  reach  that  end  without  any  pi'oper  insti-ucti(»n  on  these 
controverted  points,  liaving  confused  ideas  and  intormations 
which  had  })roduce(l  said  advices  in  tlieir  own  way  and  with- 
out reflection,  as  1  will  show  it. 

8.  The  situation  of  the  city  of  ( luayana  is  in  the  best  ])lace, 
and  as  well  ventilated  as  that  place  })ermits.  It  was  held  as 
such  by  the  Engineer  Don  Antonio  Jordan,  who  established  it 
in  the  year  17-11,  on  account  of  the  destruction  of  tlie  old 
Ckiayana  by  the  English,  who  set  it  on  tire,  when  it  was  situ- 
ated on  the  bank  of  the  Usupama  River,  as  stated  in  my  first 
part,  Chapter  7,  Nos.  2  and  3,  and  in  the  figure  2  of  tlie  accom- 
}>anying  map.  where  the  present  site  is  shown,  without  having 
been  reproved  by  anybody,  nor  any  other  place  found  more 
convenient  for  subsistence  and  salubrity,  and  a  verv  necessary 
post,  for  without  it  the  fortifications  could  not  be  maintanied 
in  the  condition  in  which  they  are,  as  the  only  place  that  can 
defend  the  Orinoco. 

0.  The  population  has  not  only  450  persons,  including  the 
troops,  as  they  have  informed  His  Majesty,  but  535,  as  shown 
in  my  first  part.  Chapter  9,  No.  91. 

"The  condition  in  which  the  chief  castle  called  San  Erancisco 
de  Asis  is  fouml,  the  wall  of  which  has  little  resistance." 

H).  In  the  accompanying  map,  ligure  2,  inay  be  seen  tlie 
situation  of  the  Castle  of  Asis.  In  figure  3  its  plan  .settled,  and 
the  preci.se  and  punctual  scale  placed  at  the  margin,  with  the 
condensed  explanation  of  the  same.  And  in  Chapter  !)  of  the 
lirst  part,  from  1  to  31,  an  extensive  explanation  of  its  circum- 
.stances,  repairs  made  on  account  of  the  walls,  and  its  condition 
at  the  time  of  the  visit  and  at  present,  without  any  contradic- 
tion of  what  r  explained  there,  as  it  is  such  as  represented,  and 
mav  l)e  verified  at  aiiv  time. 


99 

11.  With  my  exposition  in  tlie  said  Chapter  9,  and  the 
numbers  quoted,  it  is  evident  that  the  Castle  of  San  Francisca 
de  Asis  is  a  very  reguhir  fortification,  even  if  situated  in 
another  place,  wliere  men  of  war  of  the  hne  could  open  an 
attack,  and  where  it  is  more  than  ordinarily  good,  and  very 
strong,  if  the  Padrastro  is  fortified  (as  I  will  explain  in  my 
third  part),  which  is  the  point  to  make  it  useless  as  stated  in 
Chapter  9,  No.  43,  where  it  is  shown  how  solid  it  is,  and  not 
any  fault  of  resistance  of  its  walls,  as  His  Majesty  has  been  in- 
formed. 

"And  it  is  under  the  guard  of  one  Castillian  captain,  one  lieu- 
tenant, two  standard  bearers,  and  100  men." 

12.  His  Majesty  has  not  been  informed  with  more  accuracy 
in  regard  to  the  garrison  of  said  castle,  as  it  does  not  consist 
of  one  Castillian  captain,  one  lieutenant,  two  standard  bearers, 
and  100  men,  but  one  Castillian  captain,  one  lieutenant,  two 
standard  bearers,  one  constable,  one  chaplain,  two  sergeants  of 
fusileers,  two  corporals,  12  artillery  men,  one  drummer,  and  77 
soldiers,  making  in  all  100  men,  who  receive  salaries  and  are 
employed,  according  to  my  exposition,  in  the  first  part  of 
Chapter  9,  No.  89. 

"  With  18  cannons  from  6  to  24," 

13.  In  the  year  1720  the  fortifications  of  Guayana  of  the  then 
indefensive  Castle  of  San  Francisco  were  dn\y  four  to  six  guns 
of  small  calibers  and  one  of  15,  as  I  have  exposed  in  Chapter 
5,  No.  2,  and  it  was  thus  kept,  until  the  year  of  1752  in  which 
by  Royal  Order  communicated  by  the  Most  Excellent  Marquis 
of  La  Ensenada  to  the  President  of  Commerce  of  Cadiz,  who 
was  then  your  Excellency,  there  were  sent,  by  way  of  Caracas, 
ten  iron  cannons,  four  of  the  caliber  of  18,  two  of  12,  three  of 
8,  and  one  of  4,  and  through  the  same  way  there  were  received 
in  this  capital  and  forwarded  to  the  fortress  of  Guayana,  in 
August  of  1756,  and  were  mounted  in  the  Castle  of  San  Fran- 
cisco and  a  few  of  inferior  caliber  were  dismounted  and  trans- 
ferred to  the  Padrastro,  and  at  the  time  of  the  visit,  wdiicli  I 


100 

made  in  the  year  of  1701,  the  existence  at  San  Franei.sco  was 
of  twelve  mounted  cannons,  four  of  18,  one  of  15  useless,  two 
of  12,  three  of  8,  and  two  of  inferior  metals,  as  it  is  reported 
in  Chapter  9,  No.  26,  and  at  present,  and  from  last  year,  there 
are  in  said  fortification  seventeen  cannons  for  the  reasons  ex- 
plained in  said  Chapter  9,  Nos.  28  and  29,  without  room  for 
any  more  artillery,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  phm  and  figure  3  of 
the  accompanying  niap.  Tiierefore  there  is  sutticient  evidence 
that  said  castle  has  never  had  nor  has  now  eighteen  cannons, 
and  of  those  existing  at  present,  none  is  of  the  2-1-caliber  as 
reported  to  His  Majesty. 

"Their  poor  temper." 

14.  In  the  year  1720,  and  even  in  1710,  tlie  Castle  of  Guay- 
ana  was  insupportable,  on  account  of  its  bad  temperature  and 
total  scarcity  of  victuals,  and  other  reasons  explained  in  chap- 
ters 5  and  7  of  my  first  part,  but  to-da}',  with  the  more  or  less 
provisions  brought  from  the  Missions  (as  it  is  shown  in  the  first 
part,  Chapter  8,  from  No.  5  to  9),  it  is  inliabitable,  not  being 
any  sicklier  than  the  re.st  of  the  banks  of  tiie  Orinoco  River 
and  the  settlements  of  Piacoa,  Aripuco,  Encaramada,  Uruana, 
and  Randal,  the  banks  of  which  are  marked  in  the  map,  nor 
any  less  healthy  than  Carthagena  and  the  settlements  at  the 
margins  of  the  Magdalena  River,  and  much  more  important 
than  said  fortress,  as  I  luwc  shown  in  the  first  part  of  Chapter 
10,  making  indispej^sable  the  subsistence  of  said  fortress,  with- 
out minding  its  bad  temper,  whicli  will  undoubtedly  improve 
(as  experience  shows  it)  when  victuals  are  abundant  and  the 
natives  find  other  conveniences  of  which  they  stand  in  need 
now,  not  being  sure  of  healthiness  with  the  change  of  locality, 
but  on  the  contrary,  as  I  will  explain  in  another  place,  while 
the  present  matter  will  remain  pending  yet. 

"And  that  the  houses  are  built  of  wood  and  mud,  covered  with 
palm  brandies,  and  the  church  likewise." 

15.  It  is  evident  that  tlie  church  and  the  GO  houses  cxistins- 
at  the  time  of  the  visit,  and  73  at  present,  are  built  of  wood 
and  mud   (called  "  Bajareque  "  in  this  countr}')  and  covered 


101 

with  palm  leaves,  except  10  of  them,  that  after  the  visit  have 
been  roofed  with  tiles  and  two  which  were  already  tile  roofed, 
as  everything  is  shown  in  the  first  part.  Chapter  9,  No.  91 ; 
hut  whoever  sent  this  report  to  His  Majesty  had  not  seen,  nor 
had  noticed  that  all  those  of  the  government  are  of  the  same 
material,  except  the  capital,  having  about  80  of  stone  and  mor- 
tar and  150  of  "  Bajareque,"  all  covered  wdth  tiles  as  well  as 
the  church,  and  about  20  of  this  same  material  and  cover  ; 
and  the  church  of  San  Phelipe  de  Austria,  which  is  of  stone 
and  mortar  material  covered  with  tiles,  and  the  rest  of  the 
houses  of  the  capital  and  of  the  other  settlements  of  the  Pro- 
vince are  of  "  Bajareque  "  covered  with  spread  mud  and  straw 
or  palm  leaves,  as  is  shown  in  the  first  part,  Chapter  4,  No.  3 
to  II,  with  the  particular  notice  that,  aside  from  the  settlement 
of  Pao,  none  else  shows  as  good  order  as  that  of  Guayana,  nor 
in  all  the  Provinces  are  found  two-story  houses,  roofed  with 
tiles,  as  those  belonging  to  the  commander  and  the  standard 
bearer  Ferreras.  In  the  plan  figure  2  of  the  accompanying 
map,  they  are  marked  with  Nos.  3  and  8. 

"  Having  in  the  south  in  the  interior  18  settlements  of  reduced 
Indians  by  the  Catalan  Capuchin  Missioners." 

16.  All  the  settlements  of  the  Missions  reduced  by  the  Cata- 
lan Capuchin  Missioners  are  not  in  the  interior  of  the  south, 
nor  do  they  amount  to  18,  as  reported  to  His  Majesty;  those 
of  Piacoa,  Aripuco,  Caroni,  and  Aguacagua  are  on  the  banks 
of  the  Orinoco  River,  and  to  the  east  and  west  of  Guayana  (a 
circumstance  of  importance  for  what  it  shall  have  to  be  said), 
as  it  is  shown  by  the  accompanying  map,  and  in  the  general 
one,  wdiere  the  remaining  settlements  are  shown,  but  not  to  the 
amount  of  IS,  but  only  16,  the  greatest  and  the  only  number 
that  they  have  attained,  for  although  eight  of  them  have  been 
lost,  it  was  at  different  times  and  before  ascending  to  the  above- 
mentioned  number  of  16,  existing  at  the  time  of  the  visit  and 
at  the  present,  as  it  is  shown  in  my  first  part.  Chapter  8,  No.  2, 
showing  the  want  of  information  of  whomsoever  sent  said 
advi  ces  to  His  Majesty. 


102 

"  Tliat  it  is  easy  to  insult  its  garrison  by  a  "  cou})  de  main  "  and 
lose  the  Padrastro,  with  which  no  defense  could  be  made 
of  the  little  fort  of  Limones,  nor  of  the  Province,  leaving 
the  Orinoco  open  and  uncovered  the  rear  portion  of  Cu- 
mana,  Caracas,  Barinas,  and  even  Santa  Fe,  without 
remaining  there  a  sufficient  force  to  stop  the  ])rogress 
of  an  cnem}',  nor  those  coming  from  the  neighboring 
Provinces  will  find  embarkations  and  stores  to  stand  a 
siege." 

17.  It  is  undeniable  tlie  facility  with  which  the  garrison,  not 
that  of  the  Castle  of  San  Francisco,  which  is  in  condition  to 
avoid  and  resist  a  surprise,  but  that  of  San  Diego  or  Padrastro, 
consisting  at  present  of  one  sergeant,  one  corporal,  and  four 
men,  as  I  have  stated  in  Chapter  9,  No.  89,  without  means  for 
increasing  this  fort  for  want  of  lodgings,  according  to  the  said 
chapter  and  numbers  4-1  to  49,  nor  in  time  of  war  may  said 
garrison  be  more  numerous,  unless  kept  in  the  open  air,  which 
is  impossible  in  that  country,  on  account  of  the  excessive  rains 
most  of  the  year,  and  even  during  months  that  are  not  of  the 
rainy  season,  it  seldom  fails  to  rain  every  day,  and  the  dew  is 
always  damp  and  sickly. 

18.  It  is  likewise  evident  that  in  case  of  a  surprise  of  the 
most  important  mountain  of  Padrastro  no  defense  is  left  to  the 
Castle  of  San  Francisco,  as  it  is  dominated  by  the  summit  of 
said  mountain  at  an  elevation  of  3(3  yards  above  the  level  of 
the  parade  ground,  and  at  a  short  distance  of  a  regular  musket- 
shot's  range,  as  shown  in  No.  43  of  the  said  Cha})ter  9. 

19.  It  is  likewise  certain  tluit  once  these  fortitications  lost, 
the  whole  Province  remains  defenseless  and  the  Missions  in 
charge  of  the  Catalan  Capuchins  unprotected,  the  navigation  of 
the  Orinoco  free  and  at  the  mercy  of  whomsoever  controls  and 
fortifies  the  mountain  of  Padrastro,  just  as  well  the  Provinces  of 
Cuimana,  Barcelona,  Caracas,  Barinas,  Santa  Fe,  Popayan,  and 
Quito  likewise,  as  it  is  exposed  in  the  chapter  and  number 
above  quoted,  and  in  the  whole  of  the  tenth  and  of  the  first 
part,  without  any  possibility  of  sufficient  force  concurring  to 
stop  the  progress  of  the  enemy,  while  not  dislodged  from  the 
Padrastro,  which  is  a  very  difficult  task  if  they  mount  batteries 
and  lodgings  to  keep  40  or  50  men  on  said  mountain,  and  if 


103 

that  were  the  case  (not  as  remote  as  it  seems  to  be,  aii«l  I  will 
explain  in  time),  said  Provinces  would  be  lost  because,  even  if 
not  controlled  by  the  enemies,  they  might  take  all  the  ad- 
vantages wanted  and  make  useless  the  ports  of  Carthagena, 
Puetro  Cabello,  La  Guaira  and  Cumana,  as  I  have  explained  in 
my  tenth  chapter  of  the  first  part. 

20.  Bearing  in  mind  the  utmost  importance  of  said  moun- 
tain and  fortress,  I  represented  to  His  Majesty  on  the  27th  of 
August,  1767,  while  dealing  with  the  subject  of  the  demoli- 
tion of  the  Castle  of  Araya,  that  said  fortress  was  of  supreme 
importance,  among  those  of  His  Royal  dominions,  and  in  note 
9,  of  my  memorandum  with  the  general  map  of  this  Province, 
addressed  to  His  Majesty,  I  exposed  that  it  was  the  only  advan- 
tageous spot,  of  all  the  Orinoco  River,  that  could  be  fortified 
with  safety,  and  that  it  ought  to  be  strengthened,  and  that  the 
chief  purpose  of  this  consultation  is  addressed  in  the  same 
spirit,  and  if  it  is  done  as  I  will  explain  in  the  third  part,  the 
Orinoco  will  remain  perfectly  secure,  and  it  will  be  very  diffi- 
cult, if  not  impossible,  for  an  enem}^  to  possess  it ;  on  the  con- 
trary, if  they  succeed  in  securing  said  mountain,  it  is  the  only 
key  and  the  door  to  enter  into  the  other  Provinces. 

"  His  ]\Iajesty  has  decided  that  the  city  of  Guayana  be  re- 
moved 34  leagues  alcove  the  castle  to  the  Angostura, 
where  the  Orinoco's  breadth  is  reduced  to  800  yards." 

21.  This  transfer  of  the  settlement  of  Guayana  to  the  site  of 
Angostura,  or  whether  it  will  remain  where  it  is,  so  that  the 
King  our  Lord  may  secure  or  lose  a  great  portion  of  America 
defended  and  pending  from  said  fortress,  is  an  affair  of  the 
greatest  importance  that  is  necessary  to  treat  with  more  par- 
ticular extension  than  the  rest  of  the  contents  of  the  Royal 
Order,  so  that  His  Majesty,  well  informed  of  the  case,  may  de- 
cide what  it  may  meet  his  Royal  pleasure. 

22.  The  great  Orinoco  River,  after  having  received  the  waters 
of  the  Meta,  follows  its  course  for  200  leagues,  more  or  less, 
until  it  empties  its  waters  into  the  sea,  through  the  labyrinth 
of  mouths  seen  in  the  general  map  ;  its  breadth  in  all  this  dis- 
tance, the  extensive  plains  through  which  it  runs,  the  large 


104 

margins  left  in  them,  during  its  lowest  waters,  the  great  extent 
covered  by  its  floods  at  tlie  highest  point,  the  confusion  of 
brandies  in  which  it  is  divided,  the  infinity  of  islands  formed 
by  them,  has  raised  doubts  and  opinions  controverted,  for  the 
last  seventy  years,  al)Out  the  fortification  of  this  most  impoi'- 
tant  river,  so  as  to  prevent  its  navigation  by  foreigners  and 
secure  the  whole  of  all  these  Provinces,  facilitating  the  inter- 
nation  in  the  same,  for  which  only  three  places  have  been  con- 
sidered adequate,  that  is  to  say  :  Angostura,  70  leagues  far  from 
the  mouth  and  the  sea,  or  labyrinth  of  mouths  through  which 
it  empties, its  waters;  the  Island  of  Fajardo,  12  leagues  below 
Angostura,  and  the  fortress  of  Guayana,  7  or  8  leagues  further 
down  below  said  Island  of  Fajardo,  an<l  20  from  Angostura, 
(and  not  34  as  reported  to  ITis  Majesty).  Tliese  three  loca- 
tions are  shown  in  the  general  accompanying  map  and  I  will 
deal  with  them  separately,  in  justification  of  the  opinions  pro 
and  contra  of  each  one  of  them. 

23.  In  favor  of  Angostura  was  tlie  report  to  His  Majesty  by 
the  Governor  of  Cumana,  Don  .Juan  dc  la  Tornera,  as  it  is 
shown  in  the  first  part.  Chapter  2,  No.  1 ;  but  b}^  the  document 
quoted  there,  in  support  of  the  Governor's  opinion,  he  did  not 
consider  or  inform  His  Majesty,  on  the  point  of  fortifying  the 
Orinoco  River,  and  only  had  in  view  to  prevent  the  access  of 
the  Caribs  and  strangers  through  Angostura  and  prevent  the 
ravages  occasioned  in  the  Province  of  Barcelona,  tlien  unknown 
and  not  pacified,  having  in  mind,  said  Tornera  as  well  as  the 
explorers  of  the  Orinoco  and  Cari  rivers,  that  Angostura  was 
the  only  i)lace  fit  to  prevent  the  access  of  the  foreigners,  who 
were  already  acquainted  with  the  roa<l,  leading  from  the  for- 
tress of  Guayana  to  the  plains  of  Barcelona  and  Caracas,  as 
show'n  in  the  accompanying  map,  and  was  not  known  to  the 
Spaniards  when  Tornera,  in  the  year  1784,  sent  his  report  to 
His  Majesty.  It  is  likewise  shown  that  said  Governor  consid- 
ered one  fort  as  sufficient,  and  for  the  subsistence  of  the  gar- 
rison he  thought  a  few^  settlements  were  enough  of  the  Mis- 
sions in  that  neighborhood,  but  he  does  not  show  that  he  was 
of  the  opinion  that  the  poi)ulation  of  Guayana,  of  which  he  had 
very  remote  ideas,  was  to  be  transferred  to  Angostura,  so  that 


105 

he  could  not  inform  His  Majesty  upon  the  more  or  less  im- 
portance of  the  fortress,  and  whether  it  was  to  be  preferred  or 
not  over  Angostura. 

It  was  likewise  in  favor  of  Angostura  the  report  of  Father 
Fr.  Francisco  del  Castillo,  a  Missioner  of  the  Province  of  Bar- 
celona, as  it  is  shown  in  Chapter  6,  No.  4,  and  folio  47  of  the 
corresponding  proceedings.  Said  report  elicited  the  Royal 
resolution,  quoted  there,  for  the  fortification  of  said  Angostura, 
and  not  of  the  Island  of  Fajardo,  as  had  been  decided  before, 
on  the  ground  that  said  Reverend  Father  Fr.  Francisco  del 
Castillo  did  not  consider  that  it  was  fit  for  the  purpose,  taking 
the  same  view  and  the  same  terms  as  the  Governor  Don  Juan 
de  la  Tornera,  so  that  nothing  was  done  or  thought,  in  regard 
to  the  fortress  of  Guayana,  nor  the  fortification  of  the  Orinoco, 
to  prevent  the  enemies  of  the  Royal  Crown  from  seizing  it, 
and  it  was  only  in  contemplation  of  the  unfitness  of  the  Island 
of  Fajardo,  for  the  construction  of  the  fort,  under  His  Majesty's 
directions,  and  the  selection  of  Angostura  for  the  same  fortress, 
in  order  to  stop  the  ravages  of  the  Caribs  and  foreigners, 
among  the  Missions  of  the  Province  of  Barcelona  in  charge  of 
that  community.  No  other  reports  in  favor  of  Angostura  are 
known  to  exist,  besides  those  above-mentioned,  not  dealing 
with  the  subject  of  fortifying  the  Orinoco,  and  having  in  view 
only  the  protection  of  the  Missions  of  Barcelona,  just  as  the 
fort  of  Clarines  was  erected  for  their  safety,  as  it  may  be  found 
by  the  above-mentioned  instruments  existing  at  the  Supreme 
Royal  Council  and  the  acts  accompanying  the  same,  for  al- 
though Don  Cristobal  Felix  de  Guzman  proposed  to  His 
Majesty  to  build  a  fort  on  the  site  of  Angostura,  his  petition 
was  refused,  as  shown  at  folio  46  of  the  proceedings. 

25.  In  favor  of  the  Island  of  Fajardo  were  the  Reverend 
Fathers  of  the  Company,  Juan  Capitel  and  Juan  Romez,  who 
with  other  persons,  and  by  special  commission,  explored  the 
Orinoco  in  the  year  1719,  as  shown  in  Chapter  6,  No.  2,  and 
in  view  of  the  documents  presented  at  the  time.  His  Majesty 
directed  the  construction  of  a  fort  in  said  island,  as  extensively 
shown  in  said  No.  2  ;  but  the  Fathers  of  the  Company  and  the- 
other  persons  accompanying  them,  who  left  Angostura,  did  not 


106 

•  lisapprovL'  tlie  fortress  of  (Juay.iiia,  and  on  tin-  contrary  they 
expected  tliat  the  one,  on  tlie  above-mentioned  ishind,  wouhl  in- 
crease its  streno-th,  and  that  both  this  one  and  tliat  of  the  ishmd 
closed  and  secured  the  Orinoco.  That  is  the  only  report  in 
favor  of  the  Island  of  Fajardo,  which  has  been  objected  by 
every  one  who  has  had  to  do  with  the  subject,  as  I  will  show. 

26.  The  fortress  of  Guayana  has  deserved  the  general  atten- 
tion of  all  the  protessors  on  foi'titieations,  and  of  tlio.se  conver- 
sant with  the  Orinoco,  in  favor  of  which,  rej)eated  representa- 
tions have  been  made  to  His  Majesty,  rejecting  Ango.stura  and 
the  Island  of  Fajardo. 

27.  In  the  year  1541,  according  to  Father  Guniilla,  folio  8 
of  the  "  Orinoco  lUnstrado,"  the  first  Spaniards  were  located  in 
the  Orinoco  liiver.  For  their  tirst  establishment  the  Angos- 
tura was  not  selected  nor  the  Island  of  Fajardo,  nor  Guayana, 
it  was  the  mouth  of  the  Caroni  River,  marked  in  the  accompa- 
nying map,  undoubtedly  for  the  want  of  knowledge  of  the 
river  and  its  more  advantageous  grounds.  They  subsisted  in 
their  first  settlement  until  the  year  1579,  when  the  Hollanders 
destroyed  it  by  tire,  its  inliabitants  already  familiar  with  the 
Orinoco,  setting  aside  Angostura  and  the  Island  of  Fajardo, 
Avere  located  7  leagues  below,  from  there,  in  that  gorge  of  said 
river,  where  for  the  second  time  the  breadth  of  the  water  is 
reduced  to  1,400  or  1,500  yai'ds,  and  there  they  founded  the 
city  of  Santo  Thome  of  the  Guayana,  and  as  they  found  it  pos- 
sible, they  fortified  the  rock  that  forms  to-day  the  Castle  of  San 
Francisco,  the  ground  of  which  is  so  hard,  and  they  kept  it, 
until  the  year  1720,  with  Constance,  exposed  to  misery,  as 
shown  in  Chapter  G,  No.  1. 

28.  It  is  well  understood  that  the  tirst  settlers  of  Guayana 
foresaw,  that  that  was  the  only  strong  and  advantageous  spot, 
to  prevent  the  navigation  of  the  Orinoco  and  the  entrance 
in  the  Provinces  through  which  it  runs,  and  not  the  Angos- 
tura, that  although  the  breadth  of  the  water  is  reduced  to  800 
or  000  yards,  it  is  too  far  inland  to  prevent  the  landing  on  the 
whole  length  of  the  20  leagues  distance  from  Guayana,  and 
tliat  iji  the  present  situation  of  Guayana  the  whole  of  the 
Provinces  and  the  naviiration  of  said  river  was  defended. 


107 

29.  They  likewise  foresaw  that  the  immediate  .surround- 
ings of  Angostura,  the  grounds  of  the  same  Province,  were  in- 
undated five  or  six  leagues  inland,  leaving  at  low  water  exten- 
sive lagoons,  such  as  that  of  Caimanes,  shown  in  the  accompa- 
nying map;  that  they  had  no  kindling  wood  or  timber  for 
building,  no  farming  grounds,  and  the  extensive  sandljanks 
around  were  unfit  to  keep  cattle,  and  that  so  indispensable 
conveniences  and  circumstances  were  at  8  or  9  leagues  furtlier 
inland  ;  and  on  the  opposite  border  of  the  river,  within  the 
Province  of  Barcelona,  there  were  tiie  same  difficulties,  so  as 
to  prevent  even  the  Indians  from  settling  that  territory. 

30.  They  likewise  found  that  the  land  is  not  fit  for  any  de- 
fence as  it  is  all  plain  and  sand}^,  where  no  fortifications  could 
be  erected  except  in  Guayana,  as  they  conceived  it  and  did  it, 
as  the  shape  of  the  land  itself  contributes  its  share,  and  the 
experience  has  shown  that  they  could  never  be  dislodged, 
although  the  miserable  party  could  not  oppose  any  greater 
resistance  to  the  foreigners,  as  shown  in  my  quoted  Xo.  1  of 
Chapter  6.  The}'  entered  freely  in  front  of  that  unhappy  forti- 
fication, and  that  was  the  origin  of  the  repeated  appeals  to  His 
Majesty,  as  shown  at  the  following  No.  2. 

31.  The  number  3  shows  that  the  engineer,  Don  Pal)lo  Diaz 
Fajardo,  and  the  Governor  of  Trinidad,  Don  Augustin  de  Ar- 
redondo,  by  Royal  Order  herein  quoted,  were  commissioned  to 
examine  the  fortifications  of  the  Orinoco  and  the  utility  or 
inutility  of  the  same,  and  of  those  that  ought  to  be  constructed, 
setting  aside  the  Angostura  and  the  Island  of  Fajardo,  they 
informed  His  Majesty  in  favor  of  Guayana,  alleging  reasons  so 
solid,  that  to-day  there  is  nothing  to  add  to  said  well  grounded 
report,  and  there  is  nothing  said  of  what  was  the  result, 

32.  After  the  engineer  Fajardo  and  the  Governor  Arredondo, 
followed  the  Colonel  and  Governor  of  Cumana,  Don  Carlos  de 
Sucre,  who  came  down  with  a  commission  to  fortify  Angos- 
tura and  the  Island  of  Fajardo,  and  having  well  examined 
the  ground  they  informed  His  Majesty,  rejecting  the  Island 
of  Fajardo,  and  although  it  is  to  be  inferred  from  the  docu- 
ments concerning  the  proceedings  that  he  was  inclined  to  for- 
tify  Angostura,  it  was  without   prejudice  to  the  fortress   of 


108 

(Tiiayana,  to  wliicli  he  gave  the  preference,  as  more  atlvaiitage- 
oiis,  as  may  be  seen  in  his  above  mentioned  conduct,  No.  4  of 
said  Chapter  (>,  the  original  of  -wliicli  is  at  the  Supreme  Koyal 
Council  of  Indies. 

■j.j.  In  favor  of  the  fortress  of  Cluayana,  and  refusing  Angos- 
tura and  the  Island  of  Fajardo,  was  the  report  to  His  Majesty, 
by  the  Marquis  of  San  .Philipe,  as  may  be  seen  at  No.  12  of 
the  memorial  presented  by  Father  Gumilla  in  the  accompany- 
ing proceedings,  as  from  the  consultation  of  the  Marquis  of  San 
Philipe,  quoted  there,  there  is  no  copy  found  in  the  archives 
of  this  governnu'nt,  but  it  will  be  certainly  found  at  the  Su- 
preme Koyal  Council  of  the  Indies,  together  with  the  one  sent 
by  the  (rovernor  of  Cumana,  Don  Carlos  de  Sucre,  for  the  rea- 
sons explained  in  Chcpter  6,  No.  4. 

34.  Father  Joseph  Gumilla,  by  means  of  a  memorial  pre- 
sented to  His  Majesty,  through  His  Supreme  Royal  Council  of 
the  Indies,  contradicted  the  opinions  given  by  Sucre  and  the 
]\Iarquis  of  San  Philipe,  and  sustained  those  of  the  Fathers  of 
the  Company,  who  explored  the  Orinoco  in  the  year  of  1719, 
insisting  in  the  fortification  of  the  Island  of  Fajardo ;  but 
afterwards  he  confessed,  in  discharge  of  his  conscience,  that 
he  had  presented  said  memorial  to  His  Majesty,  in  obedience 
to  the  wishes  of  the  Provincial  Father,  notwithstanding  that 
he  knew  that  the  Island  of  Fajardo  was  not  a  fit  place,  and 
that  the  only  advantageous  location  on  the  Orinoco  was  Guay- 
ana,  as  it  is  shown  by  the  above-mentioned  document  at  No.  5 
of  said  Chapter  6. 

35.  The  memorial  of  Father  Gumilla  and  other  circum- 
stances brought  about  new  steps  taken  by  the  Supreme  Royal 
Council  of  the  Indies,  as  .shown  in  No.  6  of  the  same  chapter 
and  of  the  7th.  It  appears  that  the  Brigadier  Don  Gregorio- 
de  E.spinosa  and  the  Engineer  Jordan,  under  his  orders,  came 
as  commissioners  to  fortify  Angostura  or  the  Island  of  Fajardo,. 
according  to  the  instructions  given  them,  as  shown  in  the  above 
No.  6.  In  order  to  carry  out  said  instruction  the  Engineer 
Jorda  n  yent  to  Guayana  and  commenced  the  repairs  of  the 
fortifications  and  the  rebuilding  of  the  city  which  the  English 
had  destroyed  V)y  fire,l)Ut  the  Engineer  Jordan  died  before  he 


109 

could  send  his  report  to  His  Majesty,  and  in  order  to  do  so  he 
awaited  the  arrival  of  Don  Gregorio  Espinosa.  who  went  after- 
wards to  the  fortress,  and  rejecting  the  Island  of  Fajardo  and 
Angostura  sent  his  report  to  His  Majesty  in  favor  of  Guayana, 
as  ma}^  be  seen  in  his  consultation  quoted,  Chapter  6  and  No.  7. 

36.  After  said  report  His  Majesty  appointed  the  Brigadier 
Don  Diego  Tavares  to  succeed  Don  Gregorio  de  Espinosa,  with 
the  same  commission  to  fortifj''  the  Angostura  and  the  Island 
of  Fajardo,  giving  him  for  that  purpose  a  copy  of  the  instruc- 
tions given  to  Espinosa,  with  several  other  documents,  so  that 
he  could,  in  accordance  with  their  contents,  proceed  as  directed 
by  the  Roval  Cedule  quoted  in  Chapter  6,  No.  8,  where  the 
several  instruments  are  quoted  in  justification  of  all  that  has 
been  exposed  hereto. 

37.  The  Brigadier  Don  Diego  Tavares  brought  with  him 
from  Spain  the  Engineer  Don  Gaspar  de  Lara,  with  whom  he 
went  to  Guayana  and  examined  the  ground,  in  accordance 
with  said  engineer  and  other  experts,  who  concurred  and  dis- 
proved the  Island  of  Fajardo  and  Angostura,  and  according 
to  his  instructions  sent  his  report  to  the  Viceroy  of  Santa  Fe 
in  favor  of  Guayana,  as  shown  b}'  No.  9  of  said  Chapter  (3. 

38.  The  A'^iceroy  of  Santa  Fe,  after  the  report  of  the  engineer 
director  of  the  fortress  of  Carthagena,  Don  Juan  Bautista 
MacEvan,  approved  the  opinion  of  Tavaras  and  directed  the 
construction  of  the  fortress  in  the  IsUmd  of  Limones,  as  shown 
by  No.  10,  Chapter  G. 

39.  From  what  has  been  expressed  heretofore,  it  appears 
that  Angostura  has  had  in  its  favor  the  opinions  of  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Cumana,  Don  Juan  de  la  Tornera,  and  of  Fr.  Fran- 
cisco del  Castillo,  a  Piritu  Missioner,  and  that  they  contem- 
plated avoiding  and  stopping  hostilities  from  foreigners  and 
Caribs,  in  the  Province  of  Barcelona,  and  that  they  never  took 
into  consideration  the  utility  or  inutility  of  the  fortress  of 
Guayana  to  protect  the  Orinoco,  so  that  the  foreigners  could 
not  hold  on  it  their  establishments,  as  it  is  not  likeh' that  they 
should  have  considered  Angostura  the  proper  place  for  that 
purpose. 

40.  That  the  Island  of  Fajardo  has  had  in  its  favor  only  the 


110 

report  iiftlie  I'^ithers  of  the  Company.  Juan  ('apitd  and  Juan 
liuniez,  that  explored  together  the  Orinoco  Kiver  and  thouglit 
that  it  could  be  closed  by  fortifying  said  island,  adding  a  new 
strength  to  the  fortitieations  of  Guayana,  which  were  not  dis- 
carded, as  nothing  was  mentione<l  about  it  on  said  report. 

41.  In  favor  of  the  fortress  have  been  the  report  of  the  En- 
gineer Don  l'al)lo  J)iaz  Fajiii''l<>.  tlie  Governor  of  Trinidad, 
Don  Augustin  de  Arredondo,  the  Colonel  and  Governor  of 
Cuniana,  Don  Carlos  de  Sucre,  his  lieutenant,  tlie  Marquis  of 
San  Philipe,  Father  Joseph  Gumilla,  with  very  jiowcrful  rea- 
.sons  notwithstanding  his  former  report  in  support  of  the  oi)in- 
ions  of  Fathers  Capitel  and  Rumez,  the  Engineer  Don  Antonio 
Jordan,  the  Brigadier  Governor  of  Cumana,  Don  Gregorio  de 
Fspinosa,  the  Ih'igadier  and  Governor  of  Cumana,  Don  Diego 
Tavares,  the  engineer  director  of  the  fortress  of  Carthasfcna, 
Don  Juan  Bauti.sta  Mac  Evan,  and  in  virtue  of  his  report  the 
approbation  of  the  most  excellent  Don  Sebastian  de  Eslava, 
and  as  many  as  in  the  company  of  the  above-mentioned  per- 
sons have  attended  to  the  exploration  and  examination  of  the 
ground,  as  experts  or  conver.sant  with  the  subject  of  fortifica- 
tions, all  unanimousl}'  were  in  favor  of  the  fortress,  and  the 
same  thing  will  happen  with  every  engineer  and  practical 
person,  familiar  with  the  Orinoco,  sent  by  His  Majesty  to  ex- 
amine the  subject  accurately,  if  they  do  so  impartially  and 
without  any  private  ends,  and  only  in  the  interest  of  the  best 
service  of  God  and  the  King. 

42.  Hut  there  is  no  need  of  any  new  and  repeated  explora- 
tions, reports  of  engineers,  experts  of  the  Orinoco  nor  modern 
addresses,  when  experience  has  decided  this  point  so  much 
controverted  and  of  paramount  importance,  showing  what  steps- 
are  proper  to  be  taken,  without  contention  or  contrary  opinions,, 
and  as  it  has  been  settled  by  experience  I  shall  have  to  say  in 
as  few  words. 

4o.  In  the  year  17"J0,  the  Trovince  of  Cumana  was  at  the 
lowest  condition  of  misery,  as  stated  in  Chapter  1,  suflerincr 
constant  ravages  from  the  Caribs  .supported  l)y  the  Hollanders,. 
English,  and  French,  wlio  with  the  ('arilts,  overran  this  Prov- 
ince, that  of  Caraca.s,  liarinas,  Santa   Fe,  and  the  Province  of 


Ill 

Guayana,  enslaving  tJie  Indians  and  killing  all  those  that  they 
could  not  keep,  except  the  Caribs,  burning  the  Spanish  settle- 
ments and  those  of  the  Missions  established  in  said  Provinces,, 
notwithstanding  the  steps  of  the  Governor,  my  predecessors, 
and  the  active  measures  enforced  within  their  powers,  as  it  is 
shown  in  the  following  instances. 

44.  After  the  destruction  by  fire  set  to  the  population  of  San 
Felix,  (of  the  Penitence),  the  Governor,  Don  Joseph  Carreno,  at 
the  head  of  all  the  people  that  he  could  gather,  marched 
through  the  mountains  of  Cumana  and  entered  the  Guara- 
piche  River,  on  the  banks  of  which  he  fought  seriously  the  Caribs. 
and  French  together,  reporting  the  affair  to  His  Majesty,  as 
shown  in  Chapter  1,  No.  o. 

45.  During  the  government  of  Don  Juan  de  la  Tornera, 
several  visits  were  made  to  the  plains  of  the  Province  of  Bar- 
celona, and  in  one  of  the  earliest,  an  encounter  took  place  on 
the  banks  of  the  Huere  River,  fighting  the  Caribs  and  English, 
as  reported  by  Governor  Tornera  to  His  Majesty  in  Novem- 
ber, 1727,  and  before,  in  January,  1724,  he  had  applied  and 
requested  likewise  the  fortification  of  Angostura,  as  shown  in 
Chapter  2,  No.  1. 

46.  During  the  government  of  Don  Carlos  de  Sucre,  several 
steps  were  taken  to  persecute  said  Caribs  and  the  foreigners,, 
opening  a  road  to  the  plains  of  Barcelona  in  the  direction  of 
the  fortress  of  Guayana,  and  other  most  useful  measures,  that 
I  omit  out  of  brevity,  but  it  was  not  enough  to  avoid  the  un- 
fortunate event,  which  occurred  at  the  Mission  of  Our  Lady  of 
Remedies,  carried  out  by  the  Caribs  and  French,  as  explained 
in  Chapter  2,  from  Nos.  2  to  6. 

47.  During  the  government  of  Don  Gregorio  de  Espinosa 
he  endeavored  to  the  utmost  in  stopping  the  foreigners.  The 
plains  of  Barcelona  commenced  to  be  settled,  as  well  as  the 
pacification  of  the  Carib  Indians  wdio  inhabited  the  same,  as 
shown  in  Chapter  2,  already  quoted,  from  Nos.  7  to  10. 

48.  During  the  government  of  Don  Diego  Tavares  efficient 
measures  were  adopted  for  the  continuance  of  the  settlements 
and  to  stop  the  foreigners,  especially  the  fortress  of  Guayana, 
as   I  will  show   bye    and   bye    and  successively,  during  the- 


112 

time  of  l)uii  Mateo  Gual,  Dun  Nicolas  de  Castro,  and   in   my 
time. 

4'.'.  l]ut  the  vigilance  of  my  prtMlecessors  was  not  enougli  to 
prevent  all  the  ravages  that  at  ditferent  time.<  hail  heen  carried 
out  by  tlie  Carib  Indians,  always  supported  and  encouraged 
b}'  foreigners,  especially  by  the  Hollanders.  See  the  accompa- 
nying proceedings,  from  folios  21  to  24,  and  there  the  contents 
of  Xos.  2  to  7  of  the  memorial  of  Father  Gumilla,  omitting 
the  exposition  of  many  other  outbreaks,  by  many  foreigners 
perpetrated  at  the  remotest  Provinces  in  communication  with 
the  Orinoco. 

50.  Evident  as  it  is  b}'  the  contents  of  Chapters  2  and  7  that 
the  tranquility  of  said  Provinces,  most  of  them  inhabited  by 
Indians,  exce})t  the  unknown  i)art3  of  the  Guayana,  has  been 
secured,  and  the  Caribs  are  bringing  no  more  trouble,  except 
once,  and  then  on  account  of  intoxication.  From  said  Caribs 
several  settlements  have  been  established  in  the  Province  of 
Barcelona  under  the  Father  Observants  of  Piritu.  The  same 
thing  has  been  done  in  the  Province  of  Guayana,  under  the 
Catalan  Capuchins,  where  the  gentiles  and  inhabitants  are  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  Dutch  Colonies,  shown  in  the  general  map, 
and  in  fear,  and  discouraged  from  entering  into  the  Orinoco, 
nor  in  the  Province  of  Guayana,  but  very  seldom  and  Avith 
the  utmost  precautions.  Tiie  care  taken  with  them  leads  to 
their  withdrawal,  and  facilitates  the  work  of  the  Catalan  Ca- 
})uchin  Missioners,  as  shown  in  Chapter  8,  followed  likewise 
by  the  establishment  of  the  new  settlement  of  San  Antonio  de 
Upata,  as  shown  in  Chapter  9,  Nos.  101  to  105. 

51.  That  in  none  of  said  Provinces  are  noticed  at  })resent 
any  foreigners  going  around  as  enemies,  nor  inducing  the 
Carib  Indians  to  hostilities,  except  the  Hollanders,  their  allies, 
who  purchase  from  them  all  the  Indians  that  are  not  Caribs. 
There  are  no  foreigners  navigating  the  Orinoco,  that  is  above 
Guayana,  for  at  their  mouth  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  said 
fortress  they  do  so  freely,  but  without  being  able  to  land,  in 
any  of  the  above  quoted  Provinces,  nor  do  any  more  trade 
than  the  fortress  allows,  and  within  the  terms  exposed  in  my 
not'e  13,  of  my  memorandum  of  news,  and  without  said  con- 
descendance,  nothing  at  all  can  be  done,  as  the  remedy  to  this 


113 

short  aiul  despicable  injury  will  be  exposed  on  the  third  part. 
There  is  no  case  of  foreigners  travelling  through  the  Orincco 
since  174G,  except  the  case  of  a  Frenchman,  called  Ignace,  a 
great  expert,  who  navigated  the  Orinoco  in  the  year  1752,  up 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Apure  River,  where  he  took  a  stand,  as 
shown  on  the  back  of  folios  84  to  86  of  the  accompanying  pro- 
ceedings, but  his  vessels  were  seized  then,  and  on  two  other 
occasions  in  which  he  tried  to  do  the  same  ;  and  being  thus 
undeceived  and  rich  in  troubles  and  misfortunes,  he  desisted 
from  undertaking  similar  enterprizes,  and  no  other  persons 
have  been  willing  to  try  the  experiment  of  like  misfortunes,  im- 
itating said  Frenchman  Ignace.  All  these  facts  are  true,  and 
subject  to  no  contradiction.  It  is  likewise  a  fact  that,  during 
the  tranquility  of  these  Provinces,  several  settlements  of 
Spaniards  and  natives  have  been  established  in  the  plains  of 
Caracas  and  Barcelona,  and  the  fields  contain  now  large  herds 
of  cattle,  yielding  positive  advantages  and  profits  to  all  the  in- 
habitants, as  shown  by  Chapter  2,  Nos.  11  to  14. 

52.  The  pacification  and  settlements  of  the  Indians  of  this 
Province  is  due  to  my  predecessors  and  to  the  bodies  of  Mis- 
sioners  spreading  the  Gospel  throughout,  as  stated  in  all  of 
the  Chapters  3  to  8. 

53.  And  what  is  the  reason  why  the  foreigners  do  not  enter 
farther  inland,  through  the  Orinoco  River,  in  this  Province 
nor  those  of  Caracas,  Barinas,  and  Santa  Fe  ?  Is  it  on  account 
of  the  steps  taken  by  His  Majesty,  in  consequence  of  the  vari- 
ous appeals  of  the  governors  and  bodies  of  Missioners  men- 
tioned in  Chapter  6,  No.  2?  No,  indeed,  as  from  the  latter 
appeals  a  confusion  of  opinions  has  resulted,  stopping  the  con- 
struction of  the  unfortunate  port  of  San  Fernando,  as  shown 
in  all  the  Chapter  6. 

54.  Is  it  due  to  this  fortification  ?  Neither,  as  not  one  cannon 
had  been  yet  mounted,  and  before  it  was  finished  it  had  been 
made  an  armory  and  fully  worthless,  as  shown  by  Chapter  9 
and  numbers  from  50  to  88. 

55.  And  why  is  it  that  the  foreigners  who  so  freely  entered 
the  Orinoco  until  the  year  1746  are  not  doing  so  to-day  ?  Who 
prevents  them  or  has  closed  the  doors  for  them  to  do  it  ?     It  is 

Vol.  I,  Ven.— 8 


114 

clear,  and  a  notorious  fact  to  all  tlif  inliaMtants  of  these 
Provinces  and  to  the  same  foreigner.'^,  that  the  reason  is  the 
formation  of  the  fortress  of  Guavana,  jilaein.u-  its  fortifications 
in  state  of  <k' fen  CO,  comjdeting  its  small  ua<'ri><>ii  and  increas- 
ing that  ncighhorliood  that,  altliougii  in  a  short  numijcr,  it  is 
enough  to  kee})  closed  the  entrance  of  the  ( )rinoeo  and  to  resist 
the  foreigners  intending  to  tbree  it.  as  it  was  not  }»ossihlein  the 
year  1720,  in  which  that  fortress  was  in  a  state  of  infelicity  as 
shown  in  Chapter  5,  Nos.  1  to  0.  and  in  the  same  condition 
was  kept  up  to  the  year  1747  on  account  of  the  fires  set  to  it, 
and  it  commenced  to  be  kept  in  proper  form  by  Governor 
Tavares. 

56.  And  is  this  formalization  of  said  fortress  the  result  of 
Royal  direction,  in  virtue  of  the  repeated  appeals  made  by  the 
Governors,  my  i)redecessors  ?  Nobody  could  say  so,  as  there  is 
no  Hoyal  Order  whatever  on  the  subject,  in  the  Archives  of 
this  Government,  directing  the  least  help  for  these  fortifica- 
tions, and  only  those  quoted  in  Chapter  0,  for  the  construction 
of  the  fort  San  Fernando,  and  a  Royal  Cedule  under  date  of  the 
21st  of  March  of  17'")0,  a{)j)roving  the  re(|uest  of  the  (Tovernor, 
Don  Diego  Tavares,  for  the  construction  of  the  fort  San  Diego, 
carried  out  as  shown  in  No.  44,  Chapter  9. 

57.  As  there  is  no  Royal  order  for  the  increase  or  rejiairs  of  the 
fortifications  of  Guayana  and  the  formalities  of  their  strength, 
to  place  in  a  respectable  condition,  how  is  it  that  the  foreigners 
do  not  dare  to  go  up  the  Orinoco  and  can  not  repeat  their- 
incursions,  as  they  did  before  in  this  Province  and  their  neigh- 
bors? I  say  that  my  predecessors,  well  aware  of  the  utmost 
importance  of  that  place,  and  that  it  was  the  key  of  the  Orinoco, 
and  of  all  these  Provinces,  and  as  responsible  for  the  same, 
have  extended  their  })owers  to  the  utmost,  and  besides  the 
re})resentations  sent  to  J I  is  Majesty,  every  one  in  turn  has  taken 
pai'ticular  steps  towards  the  state  of  repairs  in  which  the 
fortress  is  now. 

58.  And  what  particular  steps  are  those  taken  .by  the  Gov- 
ernor since  the  year  1734,  when  Don  Carlos  de  Sucre  took 
charge  of  the  fortre.ss  of  Guayana,  and  separating  himself  from 
the  Governor  of  Trinidad  was  aggregated  to  that  of  Cumana? 


115 

To  justify  the  })articuiar  appeals  made  to  His  Majesty  and  the 
steps  taken  by  m}^  predecessors  for  the  safety  and  improvement 
of  the  fortress  I  do  not  consider  necessary,  for  in  virtue  of  the 
documents  held  in  these  Archives,  it  may  be  done  with  more 
or  less  extension  whenever  it  may  be  convenient,  bearing  in 
mind  for  the  present  what  I  have  stated  in  Chapter  7,  Nos.  5 
to  8,  and  Nos.  27  to  31  and  44  of  Chapter  9,  and  other  places 
of  the  first  part. 

59.  But  I  think  it  is  proper  to  find  out  whether  the  above- 
mentioned  steps  of  my  predecessors,  and  those  taken  in  my 
time  have  placed  the  fortress  of  Guayana  in  good  terms  of  de- 
fence, and  able  to  resist  the  enemies  of  tlie  Royal  Crown  in- 
tending to  take  it,  in  order  to  hold  it  or  sack  it  and  destroy  it, 
as  they  have  done  at  other  times. 

I  will  satisfy  the  questions  by  answering  that  in  Chapter  9, 
in  the  first  part,  and  from  Nos.  8  to  49,  the  actual  condition  of 
the  Castle  of  San  Francisco  is  shown,  as  well  as  that  of  the  tort 
San  Diego  or  the  Padrastro,  and  the  more  or  less  resistance 
which  they  may  oppose.  From  Nos.  50  to  88  tlie  inutility  of 
the  fort  of  San  Fernando  is  shown.  In  No.  49  the  garrison  of 
the  fortress,  its  emplo3anent  and  necessity  of  an  increase  are 
stated.  In  No.  90  the  short  number  of  militiamen  and  the 
^•reat  help  they  render  to  the  garrison.  And  in  all  the  above- 
mentioned  places  and  numbers  it  is  shown  that  the  fortress 
is  incapable  to  resist  an  enemy  of  the  Royal  Crown,  intending 
to  establish  there  or  to  sack  it,  but  sufficiently  fortified  to  pre- 
vent the  foreigners  and  illicit  traders  from  navigating  the 
Orinoco  and  landing  in  these  Provinces,  or  going  inland  to 
carry  any  hostilities  in  those  of  Caracas,  Barinas  and  Santa  Fe, 
as  they  did  until  the  year  1734,  and  more  or  less  until  that  of 
1746,  which  is  as  far  as  the  Governors  my  predecessors  could 
extend  their  powers  and  lay  before  His  Majesty  the  necessity 
of  fortifying  said  post,  increasing  its  garrison,  so  as  to  prevent 
the  enemies  of  the  Royal  Crown  from  establishing  there  and 
become  masters  of  the  great  commerce  of  said  extensive 
Provinces  guarded  by  it.  I  have  represented  the  same  thing, 
laying  the  case  before  his  Royal  Majesty  as  a  result  of  my 
general  visit,  and  in  answer  to  the  consultntion  of  the  27tli  of 


116 

August,  dealing  with  the  sul)ject  of  tlic  (Iciiiiilition  of  the 
Castle  of  Araya,  besides  the  repairs  that,  on  account  of  the  waiv 
I  had  to  cany  out  in  these  fortifications,  as  it  is  shown  in  the 
above-mentioned  numbers  of  Chapter  9. 

60.  Now,  if  the  only  fact  of  the  Governor  formalizing  that 
fortress  has  been  sufficient  to  close  the  pass  to  the  foreigners 
not  only  to  navigate  the  Orinoco,  but  from  landing  and  going 
inlanil  to  carry  hostilities  to  the  Provinces  through  which  it 
runs,  and  if  this  fact  has  facilitated  the  pacification  of  the 
Indians  inhabiting  Barcelona  and  Caracas  and  part  of  Guay- 
aiia.and  the  establishment  of  several  SpMuish  settlements  and 
populations  of  natives  in  said  Provinces  and  their  extensive 
countries  full  of  cattle,  without  any  hostile  demonstration  nor 
disturbance  by  the  Caribs  or  the  foreigners  their  allies,  it  is 
fully  justified  also  what  the  engineer  Don  Carlos  Diaz  Fer- 
nandez, and  the  Governor  of  Trinidad,  Don  Augustin  de  Ar- 
redondo,  and  the  rest  of  persons  who  followed  them,  in  reject- 
ing the  Angostura  and  the  Island  of  Fajardo  and  giving  their 
reports  in  tavor  of  the  fortress,  until  the  approbation  of  the 
Most  Excellent  Don  Sebastian  de  Eslava  who  acted  wdth  per- 
fect knowledge,  and  consequently  it  is  not  necessary  to  go  into 
new  examinations  and  re{)orts  of  engineers  and  exj)erts  about 
the  Orinoco,  nor  entertain  any  doubts  about  the  situation  of 
this  fortress,  as  the  only  and  most  advantageous  spot  of  this 
river  and  said  stronghold  closes  the  navigation  and  internation 
through  those  extensive  dominions  under  its  guard,  depend- 
ing from  the  same ;  and  for  this  reason  it  must  be  fortified 
even  for  better  reasons  than  that  of  Carthagena,  not  only  to 
prevent  the  navigation  of  foreigners  through  the  Orinoco,  but 
likewise  to  make  impossible  for  them  their  establishment  along 
the  ri'-er:  for  if  they  had  such  an  intention  (which  is  not  far 
from  hai»i)ening)  it  should  Ijc  easy  for  them  to  succeed,  on  ac- 
count of  the  wa'.it  of  defence  at  present,  and  after  having  suc- 
ceeded, the  loss  of  the  Provinces  of  Cumana,  Barcelona,  Cara- 
cas, Barinas,  Santa  Fe,  Popayan  and  (^uito  would  be  inevita- 
ble, according  to  the  terms  exposed  in  all  the  Cha[)ter  10  of 
the  first  part,  and  for  a  Ijettor  jiroof,  I  shall  have  to  extend  the 
contents  of  this  consultation.      I  do  not  tliiid<  that   in   consid- 


117 

i?ration  of  the  irreparable  injury,  fully  explained,  the  aban- 
donment of  this  most  important  fortress  will  meet  the  Royal 
pleasure,  transferring  to  Angostura  the  small  population  and 
the  lodgings  of  the  short  garrison  of  its  fortifications,  with  the 
loss  of  the  Mission  under  the  Catalan  Capuchins,  the  bulwark 
of  the  Dutch  Colony.  Said  Mission  could  not  subsist  without 
the  settlement  of  Guayana  nor  this  one  in  Angostura,  nor 
even  where  it  stands  at  present,  without  said  Mission,  as  has 
been  stated  in  all  the  Chapter  8  of  the  first  part,  and  at  the 
end  all  that  has  been  advanced  in  the  way  of  safety  of  the 
Orinoco,  as  well  as  the  Provinces  which  will  be  brought  back 
to  the  miserable  condition  in  which  they  were  in  the  year  of 
1734  (which  will  be  the  best  that  may  happen),  or  the  estab- 
lishment, at  the  fortress  of  (iuayana,  of  a  foreign  colon}^ 
even  more  injurious  than  that  of  Sacramento  in  the  Platte 
Hiver,  for  this  one  can  not  control  any  more  territory  than  the 
circumscription  of  the  place,  and  that  of  the  fortress  might 
control  the  extensive  Province  of  Guayana,  that  of  Cumana, 
and  those  of  Barcelona,  Caracas,  Barinas  and  Santa  Fe,  with 
more  ease  than  Sacramento  can  control  the  Province  of 
Buenos  Aires  and  its  surroundings. 

61.  It  is  no  wonder  that  the  report  sent  to  His  Majesty  was 
in  ignorance  of  the  previous  measures  for  the  fortification  of 
the  Orinoco  and  the  other  circumstances  that  I  have  shown, 
as  the  documents  existing  in  the  archives  of  this  government 
were  not  noticed,  and  they  have  been  necessary  for  ni}^  present 
report.  I  have  good  reasons  to  presume  that  they  did  not  an- 
ticipate, in  their  report  to  His  Majesty,  the  insuperable  difficul- 
ties, large  expenses  and  irreparable  injuries  which  will  neces- 
sarily accompany  the  transfer  of  the  city  of  Guayana  to  Angos- 
tura, for  if  they  had  reported  the  case  with  the  proper  accuracy 
no  such  a  transfer  could  have  been  directed.  On  this  point  I 
think  it  is  due  to  the  Royal  service  that  I  explain  the  great 
difficulty,  expenses  and  injuries  attending  the  transfer  contem- 
plated, so  that  His  Majesty  may  decide  whatever  may  be  His 
pleasure. 

62.  Among  the  insuperable  difficulties  making  impossible 
the  transfer  of  the  city  of  Guayana  to  Angostura,  is  the  poor 


118 

(|uality  ot'tln'  .-oil  ami  the  waul  of  the  necessary  conveuii'iices 
for  the  location  and  subsistence  of  a  j)Opulati»)n.  The  western 
ground  of  Angostura  in  the  Province  of  Guayana  is  very  low 
and  exi>osed  to  the  inundations  of  the  Orinoco  River,  which 
may  flood  4  or  5  leagues,  more  or  less,  of  the  eastern  portion  of 
Angostura,  while  during  the  low  waters  a  large  portion  of  the 
river  bed  is  dry  and  lagoons  like  that  of  Caimanes  appear,  as 
may  1)6  seen  by  the  accom})anying  map.  The  waters  flooding 
the  western  part  of  Angostura  are  not  in  communication  with 
the  floods  from  the  eastern  portion,  as  there  is  on  that  side  a 
kind  of  causeway  of  continued  hills  and  low  mounds  of  earth. 
The  breadth  there  is  about  half  a  league  and  the  length  about 
4  leagues.  Towards  the  north,  the  narrowest  part  of  the  cause- 
way of  Angostura  is  formed  and  widens  in  a  direction  from 
north  to  south,  following  inland  about  four  leagues,  where  it 
is  incorporated  to  a  low  ridge  of  hills. 

63.  On  the  extensive  ground  left  dry  by  the  Orinoco,  from 
east  to  west  of  Angostura,  and  all  that  sandy  country,  which 
is  not  inundateil,  nor  on  the  causeway  and  low  ridges  formed 
around,  no  timber  exists  fit  for  l)uildings,  nor  grass  for  the 
pasture  of  cattle  or  horses,  nor  farming  lands,  unless  going 
inland  for  a  distance  of  9  to  10  leagues. 

It  is  to  be  added  that  most  of  the  year  the  people  have  to 
u.se  the  flooded  water  from  the  surrounding  country  gathered 
in  the  main  river,  which  keeps  unchanged  only  during  one 
month.  All  the  other  borders  of  the  neighborhood  are  pro- 
pense  to  produce  fever,  according  to  the  report  from  the  In- 
dians, which  can  not  V)e  overlooked,  especially  as  they  never 
settle  or  stay  in  that  neighborhood.  Tlie  new  j)opulation  con- 
templated receives  the  breeze  from  the  Caimanes  lagoon,  which 
is  certainly  unhealthy,  besides  many  other  inconveniences, 
not  only  on  the  grounds  of  the  Province  of  Guayana,  but  like- 
wise on  the  opposite  side,  on  those  of  Barcelona,  which  the 
first  settlers  had  undoubtedly  in  mind  when  they  established 
themselves  on  the  Orinoco  in  the  year  1541,  and  the  settlers 
and  founders  of  the  fortress  of  Guayana  in  the  year  1579.  The 
foreigners  were  not  ignorant  of  this  fact.  If  the  ground  were 
suitable  and   the  Angostura  would   defend   the  Orinoco  they 


119 

should  liave  tried  to  establish  themselves  there  as  they  did  in 
other  })laces  when  freely  navigating  said  river.  Said  incon- 
veniences have  likewise  influenced  the  report  to  His  Majesty 
of  those  who  have  rejected  Angostura  and  favored  the  fortress 
of  Guayana.  (See  their  reports  given  before.)  Indeed,  the 
fact  is  so  plain  to  the  eye  of  the  most  indifferent  person  that  I 
hardly  need  to  continue  giving  any  further  justification.  With 
the  inundations  of  the  country  around,  the  want  of  building 
timber  and  kindling  wood,  pasture  and  farming  grounds, 
and  the  poor  water  near  the  whole  year,  with  a  sickly  climate 
exposed  to  fever,  it  seems  to  me  that  there  is  no  further  rea- 
sons necessary  to  convince  of  the  impossibility  of  the  subsis- 
tence of  this  population,  and  therefore  I  will  undertake  to 
expose  the  second  part,  and  no  little  difficulty  of  the  transfer 
of  the  same. 

64.  In  Chapter  9  of  the  first  part  and  in  No.  91,  I  have  said 
that  the  city  of  Guayana  consists  to-day  of  a  church,  the  head- 
Ci[uarters  of  the  troop,  and  73  houses  situated  in  the  order  shown 
by  figure  2  of  the  accompanying  map,  with  the  marginal  and 
especial  explanations.  Said  73  houses  at  a  moderate  estimate 
averaging  $-100  each,  are  worth  .$29,200  added  to  $4,000,  the 
cost  of  the  headquarters,  and  $4,000  that  of  the  Church  and 
materials  gathered  for  its  rebuilding,  the  whole  will  amount  to 
$37,200,  as  the  lowest  value  I  believe  of  the  material  cost  of 
said  city.  In  the  same  Chapter  9  and  map,  will  be  seen  marks 
of  from  28  to  30  small  plantations,  belonging  to  the  neighbors, 
some  yield  fruits  and  some  of  them  sugar  cane,  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  liquors  and  sugar  of  very  poor  quality,  which 
they  call  papelon,  the  only  kind  in  use  and  consumption  at 
that  Missions.  Other  farms  are  reduced  to  a  few  cocoa  trees, 
beginning  to  yield,  and  among  them  all,  there  is  a  yield  of 
six  to  eight  hundred  pounds  (6  to  8  fanegas).  On  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river,  in  the  territory  of  the  Province  of  Barcelona, 
they  have  herds  of  cattle  for  the  supply  of  the  fortress.  Said 
establishments  as  an  average  are  valued  at  $1,000  each,  and  the 
whole  at  $30,000,  considering  the  tithes  paid  during  five  years, 
which  are  awarded  annually  at  $118.6  reals,  as  shown  by  the 
corresponding  statement  and  general  map   with  the  accom- 


120 

}tanyin,u-  j)roceedins:s.  AiMiiiy,  to  the  si  is  ;iii'l  <'>  reals  cxliil)- 
ited  by  the  eolloctoi-  of  titlics,  and  the  himic  <.!■  less  iiHHlerate 
]irofit  of  tlu'  principal  value  of  said  plantation,  more  than  the 
aljove-mentioned  1^30,000,  taking  ior  _i;ranled  that  they  yield 
about  4  per  cent. 

65.  The  75  hou.ses  alone,  together  with  the  cliurcli  and 
headquarters  of  the  troop,  are  worth,  as  they  are,  I$37,200,  they 
could  not  be  built  in  Angostura  for  any  less  than  $50,000,  con- 
sidering the  absolute  want  of  building  materials,  timber,  straw 
and  the  rest,  such  as  mechanics  for  the  con'^ti'iiction,  Indians 
for  the  work,  and  the  necessary  boats. ibr  carrying  said  ma- 
terials and  provisions  for  the  subsistence  of  all. 

Ilis  Majesty  has  drawn  $-1,000  to  help  the  construction  of  the 
church,  as  I  will  explain  :  to  said  sum  Ave  must  aggregate 
$5,000  to  $6,000  from  the  Hoyal  Treasury  for  the  construction 
of  suitable  military  headquarters  in  Angostura,  answering  for 
parade  grounds  and  fortress,  as  the  constant  rains  of  the  coun- 
try do  not  permit  drilling  on  uncovered  ground  nor  the  re- 
views and  other  militaiy  daily  exercises,  wliieh  may  be  per- 
formed inside  and  not  always  outside,  when  the  weather  is  not 
propitious.  Suljtracting  these  two  amounts  from  the  total  of 
said  $50,000  there  remains  $41,000  as  the  nece.ssary  amount 
for  building  the  73  hou.ses  above  mentioned,  for  the  lodging  of 
the  00  families  exi.sting  and  residing  at  present  at  tlie  fortress. 
Said  amount  shall  have  to  come  out  of  the  ])oekets  of  those 
poor  people,  besides  $30,000  value  of  their  small  plantations, 
that  they  shall  liave  to  abandon  (here  is  now  the  dittieult}')  as 
liow  is  it  i»o.ssil)le  that  such  a  miserable  peo})le  and  their 
families,  that  are  only  dependent  upon  their  salarv  as  soldiers, 
and  the  corresponding  officers,  should  have  to  abandon  the 
houses  they  have  built  at  the  expense  of  many  years' savings 
and  labor,  to  go  over  to  build  them  again  in  a  sandy  place, 
without  any  convenience  or  means  to  secure  any  support? 
And  how  is  it  credible  that  the  neighl)ors,  not  soldiers,  give  up 
their  own  farms  and  iiclds  and  their  city  houses,  being  left  in 
the  direst  })Overty,  to  go  to  Angostura  to  establish  their  hou.ses 
and  new  farms  on  unknown  grounds,  distant  0  or  12  leagues 
from  the  population,  without  Indians  to  help  them  in  their 


121 

work,  or  money  to  pay  the  same  or  the  provisions  for  their 
.subsistence  ?  That  is,  notwithstanding  tlie  reports  sent  to  His 
Majesty,  morally  impossible,  unless  there  is  a  lapse  of  many 
years,  and  then  by  perseverance  and  at  considerable  expense, 
that  so  serious  difficulties  could  be  overcome. 

66.  The  want  of  provisions  is  the  third  powerful  reason 
making  impossible  the  transfer  of  the  city  of  Guayana.  The 
535  persons  composing  the  90  families  derive  their  supplies 
and  live  from  the  products  of  the  30  small  plantations  in  cul- 
tivation and  from  the  short  cro2')S  of  the  five  settlements  of  the 
Missions  in  charge  of  the  Catalan  Capuchins,  as  I  have  exten- 
sively shown  in  Chapter  8  of  the  first  part,  Nos.  6  to  12,  the 
total  amount  of  victuals  brought  to  the  fortress  is  short,  and 
there  is  very  seldom  a  year  of  real  abundance,  but  verv  fre- 
quently they  endure  extreme  wants,  and  in  the  happiest  times 
not  100  men  may  come  to  the  fortress,  without  producing  a 
famine  for  them  and  the  inhabitants,  besides  sickness,  as  it  has 
been  demonstrated  by  experience.  (The  boundary  expedition 
may  attest  it.)  Their  wants  are  not  remedied,  on  account  of 
the  distance  of  the  coast,  as  the  only  resources  come  from  the 
Province  of  Cumana  and  the  valleys,  along  the  noithern  coast, 
whenever  they  are  not  suffering  the  same  inconvenience,  as  it 
:so  happens  not  infrequently. 

07.  As  it  is  undeniable,  everything  I  have  exposed  in  the 
above  Chapter  8,  and  notorious  to  all  those  who  have  been  in 
the  fortress,  it  follows  as  a  consequence,  that  even  if  the  ground 
of  Angostura  were  not  so  entirely  unfit  and  easy  for  the  transier 
of  the  90  families,  their  subsistence  is  impossible  after  having 
to  abandon  the  30  small  plantations  and  the  535  persons  and 
over,  to  be  aggregated  there  by  directions  of  His  Majesty,  hav- 
ing to  depend  on  the  few  supplies  produced  by  the  five  settle- 
ments of  the  Missions,  not  sufficient  to-day  to  support  half  of 
:said  number  of  persons,  who  must  have  the  necessary  victuals 
in  Angostura  at  excessive  prices,  on  account  of  the  unavoidable 
•expenses  and  losses  occasioned  by  the  transportation  from  the 
Missions  to  Guayana  and  from  there  by  water  to  Angostura. 

68.  Perhaps  whoever  sent  the  report  to  His  Majesty  thought 
that  the  new  farms  undertaken  l)y  the  new  settlers  of  Angos- 


122 

tura  would  hv  .sulliciriit  to  afford  the  necessarv  supplies  for 
those  persons  tran.sfeiTed  from  the  fortress  and  the  rest  of  those 
aggrejji'atc'd  to  them,  not  thinking  of  the  vast  space  of  the  dry 
borders  at  Angostura  and  the  barren  grounds  around,  through 
the  space  not  inundated,  the  necessity  of  going  inland  'J  or  10 
leagues  in  quest  of  jn-oper  grounds,  the  want  oi"  Indians  for  the 
cultivation,  the  short  number  of  inhabitants  who  may  wijrk 
the  fields  and  the  inability  of  the  soldiers  to  do  that  kind  of 
work,  and  much  less  at  such  a  distance  from  the  i)0[»ulation, 
the  risk  they  run  in  those  unknown  deserts  not  yet  reduced, 
and  the  absence  of  means  of  the  neighbors  to  buy  slaves,  im- 
plements, carriages  and  horses  and  open  roads  in  those  wild 
Avoods,  to  till  and  plant  them,  building  a  few  houses,  in  which 
to  find  shelter,  as  it  has  been  done  in  their  abandoned  ])lanta- 
tions,  and  many  other  ditficulties  which  are  met  with  in  that 
desert  country,  not  [)ermitting  the  establishment  of  farms  be- 
fore the  lapse  of  half  a  century  of  continuous  and  efficient  work,, 
with  the  loss  of  a  great  many  persons  contriving  to  oi)en  and 
settle  amid  those  woods,  requiring  a  large  amount  to  keep  and 
support  the  laborers.  In  justification  of  all  that  has  been 
said  it  is  only  necessary  to  reflect  on  the  unhappy  actual  con- 
dition of  Guayana,  after  180  years  of  its  establishment  and  in 
spite  of  all  that  has  been  done  to  improve  it,  and  the  people- 
that  have  perished,  out  of  want  at  all  times,  as  I  have  said  in 
Chapters  5  and  8  of  tlie  first  part. 

69.  But  admitting  and  not  allowing  that  the  Angostura 
ground  was  fit  for  the  location  of  the  settlement,  and  that  the 
inhabitants  of  Guayana  should  be  transferred  there,  as  well  as 
those;  directed  by  His  Majesty  to  be  aggregated  of  their  own 
free  will  and  pleasure  without  the  least  inconvenience,  other 
difficulties  are  yet  to  be  encountered,  on  account  of  the  exces- 
sive expenses  required.  The  100  persons  of  the  service  of  the 
fortress,  and  the  58  militiamen  of  the  company  of  residents 
formed  in  that  neighborliood,  are  freciuently  employed  to- 
render  the  service  of  the  regular  troop,  as  I  have  said  in 
Chapter  0,  part  first,  Xos.  89  and  90,  the  garrison  is  ver}'^  small 
for  that  fortress.  So  have  my  predecessors  represented  the  case 
to  His  Majesty,  and  on  account  of  the  general  visit  and  in  the- 


123 

consultation  of  the  27th  of  August,  while  dealing  with  the- 
subject  of  the  demolition  of  the  Castle  of  Araya,  I  repeated  the 
same  request  of  my  predecessors,  asking  His  Majesty  to  kindl}'' 
increase  said  garrison  with  60  persons  more,  including  the  cor- 
responding corporals. 

Transferring  now  that  settlement  to  Angostura,  it  seems  to 
me  that  the  detachment  that  ought  to  garrison  the  fortress 
should  correspond  to  100  regulars  and  the  58  forming  the 
militia  company,  and  the  necessary  increase  should  be  in  all 
228  men,  enough  to  draw  the  detachment  for  the  Missions  of 
the  Catalan  Capuchin  Fathers,  another  for  the  Island  of 
Trinidad  and  the  guard  of  the  presidial  ground,  and  the  num- 
ber of  sick  to  be  taken  into  account,  with  another  supernumer- 
ary force  for  sudden  contingencies,  such  as  the  armament  of 
launches,  the  re-enforcement  of  detachments,  whenever  there 
is  any  incursion  of  the  Hollanders  going  inland  of  the  Province 
of  Guayana ;  all  these  movements  are  frequent  enough  in  that 
fortress  in  which  the  militiamen  take  a  part,  but  supposing 
that  there  were  no  more  than  170  regulars,  and  from  these  30 
to  go  to  the  Missions  and  10  to  Trinidad,  leaving  in  the  fort- 
ress 130  men,  between  sound  and  sick  persons;  where  are  these 
people  to  be  quartered?  The  Castle  of  San  Francisco  has  no 
more  than  the  small  body  of  the  guard,  marked  in  the  plan  of 
the  accompanying  map,  figure  3,  letter  J,  where  there  is  no 
kitchen  or  extension  even  for  two  bedsteads. 

In  the  fort  of  San  Diego  or  Padrastro  there  is  only  one  lodg- 
ing room  of  4  square  yards  as  represented  in  Chapter  9,  No. 
47,  and  consequently,  if  there  is  no  lodging  room  in  these 
fortifications,  it  is  necessary  for  the  King  to  build  and  keep 
formal  headquarters  with  the  corresponding  officers,  bed- 
steads, and  other  utensils  for  the  troop  as  well  as  for  a  hospital, 
drug  store,  surgeon,  and  assistants  with  twenty-five  or  thirty 
bedsteads  for  one-fourth  part  of  the  garrison  and  detach- 
ment, which  is  the  least  that  in  that  climate  ought  to  be 
considered  with  permanent  sickness,  and  where  the  sick  are 
now  taken  care  of  in  their  private  houses.  His  Majesty  would 
keep  likewise  a  chapel  and  chaplain,  as  well  as  a  store  to 
keep  the  provisions  brought  by  the  Indians  from  the  Missions^ 


124 

and  the  j^orsoii  who.  on  ace-ouiit  of  the  Iloyal  Trf-isurv,  has  to 
pay  for  tlie  same  or  a  regular  Purveyor  to  att'3u<l  to  that  suh- 
jeet,  and  seud  to  Anaostura  th(^  {)rovisious  received,  as  the 
ludian  Avho  Itriii^s  thi'cc  oi'  i'oui'  small  loads  of  casave,  egu's, 
chickens,  rice,  and  IVuit.  could  not  on  his  own  account  and 
risk  take  u|)on  himself  the  transj)ortatinn  or  he  delayed  to 
await  for  the  ju'oceeds.  Taking-  into  considr-ration  the  ex- 
penses thus  pointed  out  and  how  indis|icnsahle  they  are,  it 
Avill  he  found  out  that  they  will  amount  to  large  sums,  involv- 
ing losses  and  ditticulties.  In  that  fortress  a  few  more  houses 
are  wanted  (not  on  account  of  the  King),  for  lodgings  of  the 
traders  of  these  Provinces,  and  for  the  Indian.^  hringing 
supplies  from  the  Missions,  who  at  present  come  to  the  .Syndic 
of  the  Community,  and  with  liis  intervention  the  sale  is  made 
to  the  {)ublic  of  what  they  hriiig.  and  the  other  traders  come 
to  their  acquaintances  among  the  neighbors,  and  without  this 
recourse  they  would  keej)  in  the  Ojien  air,  thus  making  very 
scarce  the  communication  with  these  Provinces.  It  is  neces- 
sary to  keep  there  a  .storekeeper  of  the  ammunitions  and  appli- 
ances for  the  fortification,  and  a  lieutenant  of  the  Royal  otficers 
to  collect  dues  from  the  vessels  making  the  traffic  as  Avith  the 
first  port  of  entry.  And  finally  it  is  necessary  to  have  the 
same  population  that  is  raised  and  not  sufficient  in  that  for- 
tress, or  that  its  fortifications  do  not  subsist. 

■"  So  that  in  this  manner  the  troop  may  liold  a  second  place 
wdiere  to  repair  tlieir  wants,  stop  the  ju'ogress  of  an  enemy, 
and  congregating  there  superior  forces,  the\  may  go  down 
the  river  and  dislodge  it,  preserve  the  population,  and 
increase  and  reinforce  the  troop  of  the  Castle.'" 

70.  From  the  fortress  of  Guayana  to  Angostura  there  is  not 
a  distance  of  34  leagues,  as  reported  to  His  Majesty,  but  only 
^0 ;  there  is  the  same  distance  from  the  settlement  of  Cari,  sit- 
uated on  the  table  lands  of  the  Guanipa,  from  north  to  south 
of  Angostura,  down  to  the  port  of  Camino  real  (main  road), 
opposite  the  fortress,  (see  the  general  accompanying  map  and 
the  particular  one,  to  which  1  refer  for  an  examination,  besides 


125 

what  appears  from  various  instruments  in  the  proceedings- 
herewith);  although  it  seems  to  me  that  said  Fortress  of  An- 
gostura by  tlie  land  route  of  the  same  Province  may  be  distant 
34  leagues,  and  probably  more,  according  to  the  times.  In 
summer,  nn  account  of  the  diificulties  in  wading  the  Caroni 
River  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Mission  of  jNIurucuri.  when 
the  country  around  is  not  inundated,  it  is  no  doubt  the  road 
wnll  be  much  shorter.  In  the  rainy  season  it  is  necessary  to 
go  up  and  wade  the  Caroni  River,  before  it  is  reached  by  the 
Paragua  River,  for,  once  both  of  them  joined  together,  it  can 
not  be  waded,  and  to  cross  it  becomes  very  risky,  on  account 
of  the  strong  current  up  to  the  Missions  of  Aguacagua.  Once 
the  Caroni  and  Paragua  Rivers  waded,  the  country  around 
becomes  more  or  less  inundated,  making  necessary  several  de- 
tours towards  the  mountain,  up  to  the  place  where  the  low 
ridge  and  causeway  before  mentioned  forms  x^ngostura,  after 
inverting  the  time  necessary  to  make  34  leagues;  but  we  are 
not  certain  of  this  simple  news  of  the  Indians,  as  nobody  from 
Guayana  is  conversant  with  the  country  and  western  surround- 
ings of  Caroni  and  Paragua,  knowing  only  those  towards  the 
east,  where  the  Missions  are  located  by  the  Reverend  Catalan 
Capuchin  Fathers. 

71.  As  all  that  I  have  said  is  positive  beyond  question,  it 
results  that  if  the  enemies  of  the  Royal  Crown  would  invade 
the  fortress  with  the  object  to  sack  it  and  destroy  the  fortifica- 
tions, as  they  have  done  on  previous  occasions,  or  else  to  hold 
it;  and  supposing,  in  such  a  case,  that  unfortunately  it  would 
be  lost,  the  troop  of  its  garrison  has  no  second  place  where  to 
recuperate,  nor  any  other  course  left  than  to  withdraw  to  the 
settlements  of  the  Mission  inland,  as  tiie  only  and  best  means 
in  their  choice,  not  only  to  defend  said  settlement,  but  to  de- 
prive the  enemy  from  receiving  any  supplies  which  they 
might  find  there.  If  Angostura  is  chosen  to  make  any 
stand  and  repairs,  it  should  be  reached  either  by  water  or 
land  ;  if  by  water,  who  could  imagine  that  the  enemy  in  con- 
trol of  the  Padrastro  mountain  and  the  Castle  of  San  Fran- 
cisco would  allow  the  garrison  to  embark  and  take  a  stand  at 
Angostura,  without  persecuting  the  embarkations  by  those  of 


I2r; 

superior  force,  either  under  sails  or  by  oars,  and  that  \n  case 
■of  readiness  of  launches,  as  well  as  crews  well  provided  with 
tlie  necessary  stores  for  the  transfer  of  the  garrison  on  l)oard, 
witlmut  tlu'  (lisordtT  and  ('(iiifiision  atti'iiding  similar  unfor- 
tunate cases.  And  if  the  way  by  land  is  chosen,  it  will  ])e  no 
less  ditticult  for  want  of  provisions  and  horses,  having  besides 
the  hirge  Caroni  IJiver  to  be  cro.ssed,  ami  in  want  of  the  neces- 
sary boats  and  means  of  transportation,  through  roads  not 
opened  or  known,  through  strange  forests,  according  to  the 
time  in  wliieli  the  necessity  of  sucli  a  withdrawal  should  occur. 
If  this  is  undertaken  l^y  way  of  the  Province  of  Barcelona  it  is 
necessary  that  the  enemies  allow  the  pass  of  the  Orinoco,  and 
on  the  opposite  side  to  take  the  main  road  shown  liv  tlie  map, 
having  ready  horses  and  at  least  the  required  })rovisions  to  be 
carried  l)y  the  men  for  a  distance  of  20  leagues'  journey  to  the 
settlement  of  Cari,  the  only  pass  practicable  to  reach  Angos- 
tura, about  (')  leagues  from  north  to  south  from  said  settlement, 
and  rccrossing  again  the  Orinoco  to  be  incorporated  with  the 
garrison  and  iortitlcation  of  the  settlement  of  Angostura,  being 
impossible,  that  with  so  many  difficulties  as  are  met  with  in 
those  deserts — the  frequent  showers,  the  heat,  the  want  of  pro- 
visions and  spring  water,  and  the  pass  of  the  river  through 
the  thick  clusters  of  the  palm  trees  called  Moriche,  the  trans- 
fer and  reparation  could  be  attained  without  disorder  or  trag- 
edies leading  to  the  dispersion  of  the  troops. 

72.  But  suj)])Osing  that  either  by  land  or  water  the  with- 
drawal is  ean'ie(l  out  successfully  an<l  that  Angostura  is 
I'cached,  the  enemy  could  not  l^e  detained  tiiere  in  its  pro- 
gress ;  on  the  contrary,  it  will  succeed  in  sulxluing  the  defend- 
ers of  Angostura  Ijy  (le])riving  them  from  the  }irovisions  su}>- 
plied  by  the  Missions  of  the  Catalan  Cai)uchin.s,  and  l)eing  in 
control  of  the  navigation  of  the  river,  excluding  tlie  Spaniards, 
there  is  no  remedy  left  to  those  liolding  Angostura  and  in 
want  of  provisions  and  of  vessels  to  procure  the  same,  and 
even  if  they  had  these  vessels  the  enemy  could  seize  them,  and 
if  in  the  future  they  would  estal)lisli  plantations  and  settle- 
ments by  the  Missions,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Angostura,  the 
enemies  in  control  of  the  ( )rinoco  might  without  any  difficulty 


127 

destroy  them  and  employ  many  other  devices  facilitated  by 
their  control  of  tlie  navigation  of  the  river,  and  without  wasting 
any  powder  surrender  the  fortifications  of  Angostura,  no  matter 
how  strong  and  the  number  of  its  garrison,  which  may  be  re- 
duced by  want.  It  may  be  claimed  tliat  they  could  receive 
their  victuals  by  way  of  the  plains  of  Barcelona  ;  but  that  will 
only  show  the  want  of  knowledge  of  the  country  and  of  the 
difficulties  for  transportation  from  the  city  of  Barcelona  and 
the  other  settlemeiits  of  the  required  supplies.  When  they 
would  be  ready,  who  can  assure  that  the  enemies,  while  absolute 
masters  of  the  Orinoco,  would  permit  their  conveyance  and 
transfer  from  the  Province  of  Barcelona  to  that  of  Giiayana? 
7o.  And  supposing  that  the  garrison  of  Guayana  might  safely 
withdraw  to  Angostura  and  find  there  all  needed  supplies  and 
superior  forces  enough  congregated,  how  could  they  go  down 
the  river  and  dislodge  the  enemy?  If  they  would  intend  to 
do  so  by  water,  how  could  their  vessels,  inferior  in  number 
and  capacity,  resist  those  of  superior  strength  from  the  enemy 
and  the  fire  of  the  fortifications?  If  by  land,  with  what  car- 
riages, provisions,  and  campaign  trains  could  they  attempt  to 
do  so?  They  certainly  can  not  do  so  by  the  sword  as  against 
fortifications,  even  if  they  could  gather  around  4,000  well 
disciplined  soldiers.  The  whole  will  only  show  tbat  once  the 
Padrastro  Mountain  lost,  and  consequently  the  Castle  of  San 
Francisco,  the  enemies  could  freely  control  the  navigation  of 
the  Orinoco  River,  and  that  Angostura  can  not  be  defended, 
nor  the  Missions  of  the  Catalan  Capuchins  in  that  Province, 
nor  prevent  any  hostilities  to  the  Provinces  of  Cumana,  Bar- 
celona, Caracas,  Barinas,  and  Santa  Fe,  as  extensively  exposed 
in  all  the  Chapter  10  of  the  first  part. 

74.  Similar  convincing  reasons  could  be  exposed  besides  to 
prove  the  difficulties,  expenses  and  irreparable  injuries  follow- 
ing the  transfer  of  the  settlements  of  Guayana  to  Angostura, 
but  I  omit  them,  so  as  to  avoid  any  further  delay,  especially 
when  the  answer  of  the  remaining  chapters  of  the  Royal 
Order  contains  many  more  reasons  in  justification  of  the  two 
previously  stated,  concluding  with  the  following  reflection  : 

75.  If  the  fortress  of  Guayana  is  the  chief  key  of  the  whole 


1-28 

Orinoco  River  and  the  Provinces  throuoh  whicli  it  runs,  and 
the  only  atlvantageous  spot  that  must  l)e  fortitied,  according 
to  the  opinions  of  the  engineer  Fajanh),  the  Governor  of 
Trinidad,  hon  Augustin  (!<'  Aniihindo ;  the  Governor  of  Cu- 
mana,  Don  Carlos  de  Sucre  ;  his  lieutenant,  the  Marquis  of 
San  Philipe;  Father  Gumilla,  the  engineer,  Don  Antonio- 
Jordan  ;  the  Brigadier  Don  Diego  Tavares,  the  Brigadier  Don. 
Gregorio  de  Espinosa,  the  engineer  Don  (raspar  de  Lara,  the 
engineer  director  of  the  fortress  of  Carthagena,  Don  Juan 
Bautista  ^hlcEvan,  and  in  virtue  of  the  approbation  of  his 
Excellency  Don  Sel)astian  ile  Eslava,  and  of  many  other  per- 
sons, who  have  I'xamined  the  subject  and  whose  accurate  and 
unanimous  judgment  has  been  well  justified  by  experience,  as 
after  the  Governor  gave  shape  to  the  fortress  up  to  the  condi- 
tion shown  in  the  foregoing  number  59,  the  entrance  and  nav- 
igation of  the  Orinoco  River  by  foreigners  has  been  fully 
stopped,  as  well  as  their  landing  in  the  Provinces,  and  their 
going  inland,  it  is  showing  evidently  that  said  fortress  is  pre- 
cisely the  only  door  to  all  those  Provinces. 

The  Fathers  of  the  Company,  as  well  as  Juan  Capitel  and 
Juan  Rome/.,  consider  this  fortress  as  very  useful  and  necessary, 
nothwithstanding  their  opinion  that  the  Island  of  Fajardo- 
ought  to  be  fortifii'd,  a  re{)ort  not  acce[ited  by  the  Governors 
and  Engineers  commissioned  by  His  Majesty  for  the  fortifica- 
tion of  said  island ;  all  those  persons  directed  by  particular 
Royal  Orders  to  examine  the  subject  have  acknowledged  that 
Angostura  is  useless  for  the  fortification  of  the  Orinoco  and 
defence  of  its  navigation  by  strangers,  intending  to  efiect  an 
entrance  in  said  Provinces,  in  spite  of  the  opinions  of  Governor 
Tornera  and  Fr.  Francisco  del  Castillo,  who  did  not  dwell  on 
the  question  of  the  fortification  of  the  Orinoco  and  onl}'  with 
that  of  preventing  the  ravages  experienced  bv  the  Missions  of  the 
tlitii  unknown  Province  of  Barcelona;  and  there  is  not  a  single 
opinion  in  fav<jr  of  Angostura,  as  it  is  shown  that  the  country 
around  is  inundatcnl,  that  there  is  a  want  of  building  timber, 
kindling  wood,  good  water,  pasture  grounds,  I'arming  lands, 
and  oidy  abounds  in  lagoons,  bringing  about  the  unhealthy 
condition  reported  by  tiie  neighboring  Indians.     To  all  thes& 


129 

iiiconveniencies  must  be  added  the  difticulties  and  large  ex- 
{)enses  of  the  transfer  of  the  inhabitants,  the  impossibihty  of 
their  subsistence  on  account  of  the  present  scarcity  of  victuals 
and  the  prospective  continuance  of  the  same  for  many  years  to 
come,  and  although  the  transfer  might  be  carried  out  wholly 
or  partially,  and  the  Angostura  fortified,  that  place  can  never 
be  defended,  nor  from  there  could  be  undertaken  the  recuper- 
ation of  Guayana  in  case  of  its  loss,  nor  the  protection  of  the 
Missions  of  the  Catalan  Capuchins,  preventing  the  control  of 
those  Provinces  by  the  enemies  and  their  invasion  of  Cumana 
Barcelona,  Caracas,  and  Barinas,  with  m<yny  other  ditficulties, 
■expenses,  and  injuries  that  are  yet  to  be  exposed.  What 
benefit  follows  or  is  expected  by  our  holy  religion  and  the 
service  of  both  Majesties,  the  State,  the  Royal  Treasury,  or  the 
inhabitants  of  this  Province  from  the  transfer  of  the  small  and 
necessary  city  of  Guayana?  I  do  not  see  any,  nor  do  I  believe 
that  these  sad  results  have  been  duly  anticipated  and  foreseen 
by  those  commissioned  by  the  Royal  Order  to  handle  this 
most  important  subject.  But  I  consider  as  certain  that  the 
depopulation  of  Guayana  is  very  easy,  and  that  the  population 
■of  those  families  in  Angostura  is  very  difficult,  and  if  the  in- 
tended new  projected  city  shall  partake  of  the  same  unfortu- 
nate fate  of  the  two  cities  of  Real  Corona  and  San  Fernando, 
this  one  founded  by  the  third  commissioner  Don  Joseph  Solano, 
and  the  other  by  the  chief  of  squadron  Don  Joseph  de  Iturri- 
aga,  and  the  same  that  inevitably  awaits  Ciudad  Real,  founded 
by  said  chief,  as  I  have  exposed  briefly  in  notes  9  and  10  of 
my  memorandum  of  reports,  and  from  Nos.  92  to  100  of 
Chapter  9  of  this  work. 

In  order  to  realize  the  transfer,  as  directed  by  the  Royal 
Order,  it  will  take  many  years,  excessive  expenses  and  the 
risk  of  many  lives  in  that  new  and  unknown  territory.  And 
after  having  secured  all  that  is  needed  as  projected,  the  Ori- 
noco will  remain  indefensive  and  exposed  to  the  enemv. 
And  if  by  misfortune  an  enemy  could  take  and  fortify  the 
Padrastro  mountain  (xhe  Gibraltar  of  these  Provinces)  they 
should  become  masters  of  all  tliese  Provinces  in  spite  of  tlie 
fortifications  of  Angostura,  if  they  could  be  held.     I  consider 

Vol.  1,  Ven'.— 9 


130 

out  of  (iucslittii  that  il'  tliu  jtopulatiou  of  (uiayana  is  removed 
and  the  small  population  it  contains  be  dispersed,  and  later 
on  the  necessity  of  this  settlement  should  be  fully  understood 
to  be  as  I  do  represent  it  now,  it  will  be  difhcult  to  bring  it 
back,  and  many  years  sliall  have  to  elapse  Ijcfoi-c  a  similar 
congregation  of  families  come  together,  usetl  to  the  climate 
and  well  attached  to  the  spot,  as  they  are  now,  (the  only  way 
to  make  them  suijsist.)  In  the  meantime  it  is  very  possible 
that  the  enemies  may  assault  that  most  important  place  from 
which  they  are  not  far  nor  forgetful  of  the  i»ast,  as  I  will  show 
in  the  third  part  (;f  this  work.  And  tinally  1  have  to  repeat 
that  J  do  not  entertain  any  doubt  that  if  His  Majesty  had 
been  duly  and  accurately  informed  about  all  the  above  in- 
conveniences and  whatever  else  1  will  submit  to  His  Royal 
kindness,  the  transfer  of  the  population  of  ( hiayana,  should 
not  have  been  directed,  as  it  will  be  prejudicial  to  our  holy 
religion,  to  the  Koyal  Sovereignty,  to  the  Treasury  and  to  all 
these  vassals. 


"  That  to  the  100  men  of  the  full  assignment  of  Guayana  the 
73  of  the  escort  of  the  Mission  of  the  Jesuits  of  the 
Orinoco  and  the  Barinas  dominions  l>e  aggregated." 

76.  In  note  10  of  my  memorandum  of  reports  I  state  that 
the  Reverend  Father  Jesuits  of  the  new  Kingdom  of  Granada 
teach  the  Gospel  at  the  Missions  established  on  the  margins 
of  the  Meta  and  Casanare  rivers,  shown  partially  in  the  gen- 
eral map ;  that  these  Missions  belong  to  the  Government  of 
Santa  Fe,  except  those  called  Encaramada,  Uruana,  Carichana, 
and  Randal,  situated  to  the  south  of  the  Orinoco  River  in  the 
Province  of  (Juayana,  belonging  to  the  Government  of  Cu- 
mana  ;  that  for  the  escort  of  said  Missions  His  Majesty  keeps 
48  soldiers  and  one  captain  at  the  annual  salary  of  $905 
for  the  latter  and  $132  for  the  former,  to  be  paid  from  the 
Royal  Treasury  of  Santa  Fe  ;  that  the  progress  of  the  Jesuits 
in  the  Province  of  Guayana  was  very  slow,  on  account  of  the 
great  amount  of  work  in  the  pacification  and  settlement  of  the 


131 

gentiles  inhabiting  the  unknown  regions  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  Meta  and  Casanare  rivers,  and  that  the  Missions  on  the 
banks  of  the  Orinoco  River  were  established  more  for  the  pur- 
pose of  keeping  an  eye  on  the  Caribs  and    preventing  them 
from  navigating  it  and  assaulting  those  of  the  Meta  and  Casa- 
nare than  to  spread  the  same  into  the  interior  of  the  Province 
of  Guayana,  as  shown  by  the  above  quoted  note.     What  was 
then  sufficient  to  give  a  general  notice  of  said  Missions,  espe- 
cially of  those  (four  in  number)  within  the  government  in  my 
charge,  is  not  so  to-day  for  showing  the  impossibilities  in  re- 
gard to  their  escort  and  that  of  the  dominions  of  Barinas  com- 
ing down  to  be  aggregated  to  the  garrison  of  Guayana.     It  be- 
comes  necessary   to  show  the  territories  occupied  by  the  two 
Missions.     From    their   remotest  settlement    to    the   fortress 
there  is  a  distance  of  from  300  to  350  leagues,  through    the 
roads  in  use  to  reach  those  Missions.     The  quality  of  the  troop 
employed  in  these  escorts  and   the  method    of  serving  their 
places  will  show,  after  it  is  well  known,  how  difficult  and  pre- 
judicial should  be  their  aggregation  to  the  garrison,  and  that 
the  reports  sent  to  His  Majesty  on  this  particular  point,  show 
not  the  least  knowledge  of  the  previous  circumstances  for  the 
transfer  of  the  city  to  Angostura. 

77.  Very  near  to  the  capital  of  Santa  Fe,  and  at  the  highest 
point  of  its  mountains,  is  the  source  of  the  Meta  River,  which 
alter  several  windings  falls  to  the  valley  called  Turmeque,  the 
name  of  an  Indian  settlement  so  called  and  situated  in  the 
same  valley.  From  this  settlement  it  continues  its  windings 
through  the  mountains  until  coming  out  to  very  extensive, 
and  in  its  greatest  portion  unknown,  prairies  called  the  plains 
of  San  Juan,  where  there  are  several  missionary  settlements  gov- 
erned by  its  Corregidor  provided  by  the  Viceroy  of  Santa  Fe. 
In  the  year  J  753  there  were  in  charge  of  the  Augustine,  Recol- 
lect, and  Calzado  orders  of  that  Kingdom,  but  I  am  ignorant 
whether  they  have  passed  or  not  to  secular  clergymen  accord- 
ing to  the  last  Royal  provisions  on  the  subject.  Not  far  from 
this  doctrinal  settlement,  on  the  same  plains  of  San  Juan,  the 
Jesuits  have  different  Missions  on  the  margins  of  the  Meta 
River,  among  them  those  named  La  Conception,  San  Miguel, 


132 

and  San  Francisco  Regis,  not  embraced  in  tlie  general  iiiap, 
wliich  does  not  reacli  the  wliole  of  the  same  within  SO  leagues, 
and  thus  the  said  Missions,  La  Conception,  San  Miguel,  .San 
Juan,  San  Francisco  de  Axis,  and  others  situated  in  said  plains, 
at  a  distance  from  the  Orinoco  by  elevation  160  leagues  and 
from  Guayana  about  2(3,  which  calculated  at  one-tliird  more, 
on  account  of  the  windings  and  detours  of  the  Orinoco  and 
^leta  rivers,  it  is  understood  that  said  last  Missions  are  far 
from  Guayana  from  340  to  350  leagues  at  least 

78  On  the  Orinoco,  and  at  seven  days' journey  from  the 
capital  of  Santa  Fe,  the  high  and  snow-bound  sierras  intervene, 
called  the  Paramos  of  Chita.  From  there  comes  the  Casanare 
River,  which  after  several  windings  descends  to  the  plain  and 
the  place  where  the  general  map  represents  the  Mission  of  San 
Salvador  de  Casanare  and  from  there  follows  until  it  empties 
into  the  ^feta  River,  with  the  name  of  which  empties  its  waters 
into  the  Orinoco,  as  shown  in  the  general  map.  Before  the 
Casanare  River  comes  out  to  the  plain,  and  in  tlie  same  sierras  of 
Chita,  it  receives  the  waters  of  the  Purari  and  Tacaragua  rivers. 
On  the  banks  of  these  two  last  mentioned  rivers  the  Fathers  of 
the  Company  have  the  two  Missions  called  Pautos  and  Patuti, 
distant  about  20  leagues  from  that  of  San  Salvador.  Lower 
down,  below  the  Mission  of  San  Salvador,  the  Casanare  River 
receives  the  waters  of  the  Tanie,  on  the  banks  of  which  are 
.situated  the  Missions  of  Betoyes,  Tame,  and  Jiraras,  distant  by 
elevation  from  those  of  San  Salvador,  Panto,  and  Patuti  95 
leagues  from  the  ( )rin()co  and  'I'M)  ironi  ( Inayana,  to  which 
increasing  one-third  of  allowance  tor  the  windings  of  the  rivers 
it  results  that  from  the  fortress  of  Guayana  to  the  Missions  of 
Pauto  and  Patuti  there  is  a  distance  of  about  300  leagues  and 
of  350  to  the  Missions  of  La  Conception,  San  Miguel,  San  Juan, 
Francisco  Regis,  and  others  situated  on  the  above-mentioned 
plains  of  San  Juan,  as  shown  in  the  general  map,  with  tliat  of 
Father  Gumilla  at  the  beginning  of  his  work  "  Orinoco  llus- 
trado,"  and  what  is  exposed  from  folios  21  to  23,  dealing  with 
the  subject  of  .said  river  and  Mi.ssions,  which  he  did  with  par- 
ticular knowledge  of  all  those  territories,  having  been  with 
them  for  many  years  as  an  Apostolic  Ministerial  Delegate  and 


133 

Superior  of  the  Missions.  Said  distances  agree  with  those  kept 
at  the  fortress  of  Guayana  for  the  annual  journeys  to  the  cap- 
ital of  Santa  Fe  in  quest  of  funds  for  the  payments,  and  the 
carriers  of  those  funds  take  a  long  time  in  that  long  journey, 
as  I  wilt  briefly  state. 

79.  Since  His  Majesty  has  kindly  designated  the  Royal 
Treasur}'  of  Santa  Fe  for  the  payment  of  the  funds  necessary 
for  the  subsistence  of  Guayana  until  last  year,  1762,  an  officer 
was  sent  from  that  fortress  who,  in  order  to  reach  the  capital  of 
Santa  Fe,  was  to  navigate  the  Orinoco  as  far  as  the  settlement 
of  Cabruta,  where  the  first  Mission  was  in  charge  of  the  Jesuit 
Fathers,  as  shown  in  the  general  map.  From  said  Mission, 
and  passing  through  those  of  the  Encaramada,  Uruana,  and 
Carichana,  also  in  charge  of  the  Jesuits,  and  all  situated 
in  the  Province  of  Guayana,  he  continued  his  navigation  up 
to  the  Meta  River,  taking  in  all  twenty-five  days.  From 
the  Orinoco  he  navigated  up  the  Meta  river  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Casanare,  taking  eight  days,  and  thence  he  followed  to 
the  Mission  of  San  Salvador  de  Ca.sanare,  which  rec|uired 
fifty-five  days.  From  there  by  land,  and  after  four  days'  jour- 
ney, he  passed  that  of  Pautos,  taking  from  there  to  the  capital 
of  Santa  Fe  fourteen  days  more.  Summing  up,  it  results  that 
from  the  fortress  of  the  Mission  of  Panto,  the  last  one  in  charge 
of  the  Jesuits  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Casanare,  ninety-two 
days  were  required,  thus  justifying  the  calculation  of  the  Field 
Marshal,  Don  Eugenio  de  Alvarado,  accompanying  a  copy  of 
the  Royal  Order  communicated  by  Your  Excellency  on  the 
22d  of  January,  1762,  by  which  His  Majesty  directs  that  in 
future  the  journey  in  quest  of  these  funds  be  discontinued  by 
the  way  of  Casanare  and  carried  out  by  that  of  the  Meta  River. 
Said  Royal  Order  has  been  duly  enforced  in  the  present  year 
by  the  receiver  and  bearer  of  said  funds,  the  lieutenant  of  the 
garrison  of  Guayana,  Don  Felix  Ferreras,  who,  on  his  return 
from  that  fortress  on  the  31st  of  last  August,  has  given  me  an 
account,  confirming  said  calculation  of  the  route,  except  in  re- 
gard to  the  open  roads,  by  the  above-mentioned  Don  Eugenio 
de  Alvarado,  that  he  found  impracticable.  His  travel  through 
the  Meta  River  is  the  following. 


134 

80.  After  having  navigated  tliirty-tliree  days,  tlirougli  the 
Orinoco  and  j\leta  rivers,  up  to  the  cdnHuencc  of  the  Casanare, 
this  one  is  not  followed  as  before,  l)ut  the  navigation  continues 
on  the  Meta,  and  after  eight  days  the  Mission  of  San  Miguel, 
the  first  in  charge  of  the  Jesuits,  in  the  juri.-^'liction  of  the 
Meta,  is  reached.  From  there,  passing  to  those  of  Suriniena 
and  Casimena  within  six  days,  the  ni<jutli  of  the  Rio  Negro  is 
reached.  After  three  days  navigation  on  this  last  one  the 
brook  called  Pachaquiero  is  reached  and  navigated  for  one 
day ;  from  there  by  land  to  the  Mission  of  Apiay,  there  is 
another  day,  and  thence  to  Santa  Fe  five  days,  making  in  all 
from  the  fortress  to  the  Mission  of  Apiay,  tlie  last  in  charge  of 
the  Jesuits  within  the  Meta  territory,  fifty-two  days  at  the  best 
time  required  by  the  Royal  Order,  when  the  Orinoco  River  is 
at  the  lowest  ebb  and  the  winds  in  full  force  and  i»roj»itious 
for  the  navigation. 

81.  Having  produced  an  evidence  of  the  distances  between 
the  fortress  of  Guayana  and  the  ^Missions  of  Pautos  and  Apiay, 
the  last  under  the  Jesuits  in  the  Departments  of  Meta  and 
Casanare,  and  the  only  roads  in  use  at  present  for  the  traffic 
between  them,  it  remains  necessary  to  give  a  similar  report  of 
distances  in  regard  to  the  Missions  of  Barinas  as  follows. 

82.  The  Reverend  Dominican  Fathers  of  Santa  Fe  keep  a 
body  of  Missioners  in  that  of  liarinas.  The  Gospel  field  of 
the  same  and  tiiat  of  those  undei'  the  .lesuits  of  Casanare  are 
divided  by  the  great  Apure  River,  which  receives  its  waters 
from  the  great  sierras  of  Santa  Fe,  and  after  having  run  300 
leagues  it  empties  into  the  Orinoco,  as  represented  by  Father 
Gumilla  at  folio  18  of  his  "Orinoco  Ilustrado,"  and  is  shown 
in  the  map  which  he  brings  at  the  beginning,  and  in  the  gen- 
eral ma])  which  I  have  addressed  before  to  His  Majesty. 

The  Mi-ssion  of  the  Dominican  Fathers  does  not  follow  the 
route  of  the  Jesuits,  as  this  one  comes  from  the  neighborhood 
of  the  capital  of  Santa  Fe,  following  the  waters  of  tlie  Meta 
and  Casanare  rivers  to  the  soutli,  down  to  their  confinence 
with  the  Orinoco,  and  from  there  it  takes  the  direction  towards 
the  cities  of  Barinas  and  Merida  and  tlience  to  the  west  in 
going  through  the  mountains  down  to  jNhiracaibo,  as  shown  b}^ 


135 

the  general  map,  wliicli  only  comprises  the  Missions  of  Tico- 
poro,  Santo  Domingo,  Las  Tapias,  La  Mesa,  San  Joseph,  and 
Lagunillas  doAvn  to  the  Taravita,  situated  on  the  Chama  River. 
Said  Missions  and  those  in  the  interior  of  the  mountains 
towards  Maracaibo  enjoy  a  cold  and  dr}'^  climate,  on  account 
of  the  elevation  of  the  mountains  covered  with  snow  around 
the  same.  Those  of  the  Jesuits  enjoy  the  same  climate,  except 
those  situated  on  the  plains  between  tlie  sierras  and  the  Ori- 
noco, where  there  is  a  warmer  climate  although  not  so  damp 
as  that  of  Guayana. 

S3.  On  the  same  general  map  the  Missions  of  San  Joseph 
and  Lfigunillas  are  shown  close  to  said  Taravita  at  a  distance 
from  the  Orinoco  of  about  80  leagues  by  elevation,  and  from 
Ouayana  200,  adding  one-third  more  for  the  windings  of  the 
Orinoco,  Apure,  and  Santo  Domingo  Rivers  and  the  land 
roads  from  the  settlement  of  Lagunillas  and  pass  of  the  above- 
mentioned  Taravita,  it  results  that  the  distance  between  this 
one  and  the  fortress  is  270  leagues. 

84.  The  general  map  and  that  of  Father  Gumilla  show  very 
well  how  difficult  it  will  be  to  travel  by  land  from  the  fortress 
of  Guayana  to  the  Taravita  of  the  Chama  River  and  the  Mis- 
sions of  Lagunillas,  as  it  should  be  necessary  to  cross  the  table- 
land of  Guanipa  and  the  extensive  plains  of  the  Province  of 
Barcelona,  Caracas  and  Barinas  to  the  city  of  Merida,  and 
from  there  to  the  Mission  of  Lagunillas,  for  which,  besides  the 
traveling  of  300  leagues,  it  must  be  added  the  sufferings  and 
inconveniences  of  desert  countries  of  an  ardent  climate,  copious 
showers,  and  the  pass  through  numberless  rivers,  shown  in  the 
general  plan,  with  other  difficulties  which  I  omit. 

85.  In  order  to  make  more  tolerable  such  a  long  journey  it 
is  considered  that  the  best  and  only  way  should  be  that  of  the 
Orinoco  River,  navigating  the  same  up  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Apure  River,  and  following  this  one  until  it  meets  the  Santo 
Domingo  River,  and  from  there  going  to  the  city  of  Barinas, 
thence  by  land  to  Merida,  and  proceeding  through  the  Mission 
of  San  Joseph  to  Lagunilhis.  There  is  nobody  in  Guayana 
unfamiliar  with  this  route,  nor  any  one  who  may  give  an  ac- 
count of  the  possibility  or  impossibility  of  the  navigation  of 


130 

the  whole  of  tlie  rivers  A()ure  and  Santo  Domingo,  nor  how 
many  days  it  takes  to  reach  the  pass  (Taravita)  of  the  Chania 
Kiver  and  the  other  Missions  in  tlie  interior  of  the  mountains 
not  reached  in  tlie  map;  although  it  is  to  be  inferred  that  the 
travel  will  not  be  in  any  way  shorter  than  that  from  the  fort- 
ress of  Giiayana  to  the  last  Mission  of  Pantos,  in  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  Casanare,  for  which  they  take  ninety-two  days;  but  in 
order  to  dispel  these  doubts  it  will  be  necessary  to  examine 
the  subject,  and  they  did  not,  in  order  to  send  positive  informa- 
tion to  His  Majesty,  and  that  is  all  I  have  to  say  in  regard  to 
the  situation  of  these  Missions,  and  the  distances  from  them  to 
the  fortress. 

86.  For  the  escort  of  the  Missions  under  the  Jesuit  Fathers, 
His  Majesty  keeps  48  soldiers,  under  one  captain  only,  who 
draws  a  salary  of  $905  a  year  and  the  soldiers  $132  a  year, 
making  in  all  $7,331,  as  it  is  shown  by  the  certificate  given,  in 
virtue  of  a  decree  at  the  time  of  the  visit,  by  Don  Juan  Antonio 
Bonalde,  who  was  then  their  captain,  and  is  found  at  folio  71 
of  the  third  part  of  the  proceedings,  that  I  sent  to  His  Majesty, 
through  his  Royal  and  Supreme  Council,  with  the  other  acts  of 
the  visit.  The  $7,331  are  received  from  the  Royal  Treasury  at 
Santa  Fe,  by  the  attorney  of  the  Missions  and  by  direction  of 
the  Superior  of  the  same,  are  distributed  among  the  persons  of 
the  escort.  The  cai)tain  is  appointed  by  the  Viceroy  of  Santa 
Fe  and  the  soldiers  are  mustered  at  the  i)leasure  of  the 
Su})erior,  who  likewise  discharges  them,  whenever  he  finds 
it  convenient  or  unfit  for  the  escort.  The  whole  of  the  people 
serving  in  it  are  horsemen,  but  not  trained  as  military  men, 
nor  acquainted  with  the  handling  of  muskets,  nor  their  arma- 
ment is  equal  or  i)roportionate,  as  it  is  in  the  style  of  new 
simple  chasseurs.  That  they  are  not  military  men,  acquainted 
with  that  profession,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  fortress  of 
Carthagena,  I'uerto  Cabello,  La  Guaira,  Caracas,  Cumana,  and 
Guayana  (the  only  places  where  there  are  regular  bodies  of 
troo])s)  there  is  no  detachment  for  the  above  escort,  and  this 
one  is  not  under  the  direction  of  a  military  chief,  but  a  civilian 
as  well  as  the  soldiers,  who  are  familial'  Avith  the  country  in 
every  respect  and  travel  inland  with  an  admirable  knowledge 


137 

and  rare  facilities,  ju.<^t  as  if  they  slioukl  do  so  tlirough  the  best 
roads,  keeping  themselves  in  those  places  without  any  other 
help  than  the  facilities  of  their  muskets  and  other  devices 
which  only  are  known  to  themselves  and  to  the  regular  troop, 
that  have  never  performed  these  travels  and  could  not  easily 
acquire  the  knowledge  of  the  country,  woods,  mountains  and 
sierras  as  these  civilians  do,  used  and  brought  up  in  this  kind 
of  practice,  although  ignorant  of  the  military  service.  Those 
who  are  serving  in  that  escort  are  detached  from  the  more  ad- 
vanced Missions,  and  they  are  less  domesticated,  kept  at  the 
entrance  of  the  mountains,  in  order  to  gather  around  and  bring 
with  them  the  Indian  fugitives  from  the  settlements,  they  have 
to  keep  and  reduce  those  that  have  never  been  settled,  and  are 
accompanied  by  one  or  more  missionaries,  as  directed  by  the 
Superior.  They  are  employed  in  doing  whatever  is  thought  to 
lead  to  the  safety  of  the  Missions,  and  for  that  purpose  (notwith- 
standing their  want  of  military  training),  they  do  better  work 
than  the  veteran  grenadiers.  Said  civilians,  as  a  rule,  are 
married  and  keep  their  families  in  the  settlement  from  where 
they  are  detached  ;  the  Missionaries  prefer  those  possessing 
these  conditions,  so  as  to  avoid  other  inconveniences  in  detri- 
ment of  the  welfare  of  the  Indians. 

87.  I  do  not  know  the  number  of  men  serving  as  escort  to  the 
Dominicans  of  Barinas,  but  if  there  is  no  mistake  in  the  re- 
ports sent  to  His  Majesty  on  this  subject,  24  men  make  their 
corresponding  share  to  complete  the  full  number  of  73  alloted 
by  the  Royal  Order.  I  am  likewise  ignorant  of  the  pay  they 
draw,  but  I  am  sure  that  they  receive  it  from  the  Royal  Treas- 
ury of  Santa  Fe,  by  means  of  the  Attorney  of  the  Missions  of 
said  dominions,  and  that  the  quality  of  the  troop  and  methods 
of  the  service  agree  entirely  with  those  of  the  escort  of  the 
Jesuits  and  of  the  other  persons  in  the  custody  of  the  bodies 
of  Mission  kept  by  His  Majesty  in  America,  except  those  of 
the  Catalan  Capuchins  that  have  been  escorted  by  a  detach- 
ment of  regular  troops  from  Guayana,  and  were  better  if  they 
were  civilians  and  good  horsemen. 

88.  For  better  justification  of  what  has  been  stated  in  this 
chapter,  I  refer  to  the  report  of  the  Viceroy  of  Santa   Fe,  if 


138 

His  ^lajesty  w^uld  ]>e  jjU-uslmI  to  diivct  him  to  carry  this 
method  into  eti'ect  or  direct  an  investigation  by  competent 
})ersons,  being  sure  that  nobody  would  entertain  a  contrary 
opinion  in  any  of  said  points. 

SO.  And  under  tliis  conviction  I  say  that  as  the  })ersons 
serving  as  escorts  to  the  Father  Jesuits  of  Orinoco  and  of  the 
dominions  of  Barinas  have  not  been  bound  to  sul)niit  to  the 
rules,  })cnalties.  nnd  terms  {)rescril)cd  iiy  tlic  Iioyal  ordinances, 
and  they  are  all  hor.semen,  less  those  Avho  are  civilians  under 
a  .salary,  without  any  fixed  time,  ignorant  of  the  military  dis- 
cipline, without  the  armament  as  such,  residing  in  cold  and 
dry  climates,  most  of  them  married  persons  and  with  their 
families  spread  through  various  settlements  from  where  the}' 
are  detacht'd  far  from  the  fortre.ss,  some  270  leagues,  others 
300  and  350  leagues,  with  extensive  deserts  intervening,  it  is 
not  practicable  to  make  them  all  abandon  their  families  and 
become  aggregated  to  the  garrison  of  (luayana  and  bound 
there  to  the  military  suboi-dinatiou.  being  instructed  in  the 
infantry  service,  paying  for  tlieir  uniforms  and  accoutrements, 
Avhich  they  do  not  wear,  and  exposed  to  a  warm  and  damp 
climate.  The  soldiers  bound  to  serve  in  the  infantry  already 
settled  in  that  fortress,  used  to  its  bad  climate,  married 
there  with  §20  less  salary,  as  they  only  draw  $120  a  year,  re- 
duced to  $112  after  the  necessary  discount  for  the  tran.sporta- 
tion  of  the  money,  ought  not  give  u\)  their  families  to  serve  as 
escorts  to  the  Missions  under  a  civilian,  such  as  the  cap- 
tain of  the  escorts  of  the  Jesuits  is,  nor  they  ought  to  pay  for 
theii-  horses,  saddles,  and  trappings,  becoming  horsemen  and 
ex})erts  of  the  country  and  the  mountains  that  they  never 
saw,  and  i)roviding  themselves  with  woolen  clothing  to  stand 
the  coM  anil  dry  weather,  in  o})position  to  the  warm  an<l  damp 
weather  that  they  leave  behind. 

90.  In  the  event  that  the  regular  troop  should  be  assigned 
for  the  service  of  the  escort  (as  enjoined  farther  on  l)y  Royal 
Order),  and  that  they  should  be  aggregated  to  the  garrison,  it 
should  be  necessary  to  send  three  launches  of  the  fortress,  one 
for  the  navigation  of  the  Orinoco  up  to  the  mouth  of  the  Apure 
Kiver,  going  through  it  as  far  as  the  ciuillnence  of  the  Santo 


139 

Domingo  River  and  navigating  tlirongli  the  same  to  tlie  city 
•of  Barinas,  and  thence  by  land,  said  detachment  going  as  far 
fis  Merida.  From  there  and  across  tlie  Taravita  (or  pass)  of 
the  Chama  River  and  thence  to  the  Missions,  in  the  interior 
of  tlie  mountains  of  Maracaibo,  for  which  horses  must  be 
brought  from  the  city  of  Barinas,  and  while  there  to  await  the 
launch  of  the  relieved  people,  and  return  by  the  same  to  the 
fortress,  consuming  in  that  journey  about  six  months.  That 
the  other  two  launches  navigating  the  Orinoco  up  to  the  Meta 
River,  enter  by  the  mouth  of  this  one,  following  up  to  that  of 
C'asanare  and  parting  company  there,  one  going  through  the 
Casanare  up  to  the  Mission  of  San  Salvador,  and  the  other 
through  the  Meta  up  to  the  Apiay.  And  the  detachment  of 
the  fortress  of  Meta  and  Casanare  being  relieved,  return  to  the 
fortress  by  the  same  way  it  came,  requiring  for  tliis  journey 
another  six  months.  But  the  expense  of  the  launches,  their 
•crews,  stores  for  the  same,  and  troop  carried  on  board  and  re- 
turning, may  be  set  at  $1,000  each,  costing  so  much  the  garri- 
son of  the  fortress,  while  sending  yearly  to  Santa  Fe  for  the 
allotted  money,  as  shown  by  notes  1  and  9  of  the  memoran- 
dum. And  that  at  every  time  of  the  change  of  these  detach- 
ments they  make  an  expense  of  $3,000,  and  with  the  greatest 
economy  it  is  no  less  than  .$2,500.  And  could  the  troop  re- 
lieved and  relieving  spend  all  that  money?  By  no  means  ; 
as  the}^  will  not  fail  to  leave  l^ehind  some  help  to  their  families 
and  keep  their  respective  places.  If  the  troop  can  not  bear 
these  expenses  it  is  necessary  that  they  should  be  made  by  the 
Royal  Treasury,  as  if  it  is  not  so  they  must  not  be  borne  by 
the  escort  aggregated  to  the  garrison  of  Guayana. 

91.  And  in  case  that  the  removal  of  the  garrison  should  be 
facilitated,  His  Majesty  paying  for  the  transportation,  there  is 
no  doubt  that  the  troop  leaving  Guayana  might  take  lodgings 
in  the  suburban  districts  of  the  Mission ;  but  how  could  the 
civilians  and  the  escort  do  so  (being  strangers  both  in  the  fort- 
ress and  in  Angostura)  ?  Where  would  the}'  lodge,  and  how  are 
the}''  to  be  attended  while  sick?  There  is  no  house  in  Angos- 
tui'a,  and  at  the  fortress  only  73  exist,  occupied  by  90  families 
■contained  in  the  population  of  the  city,  and  the  headquarters  of 


140 

the  ti-onp  Tcduccil  to  ;i  small  stoi'G,  Under  four  bare  walls 
rovcrcl  willi  tiles,  vvitliout  any  kitclieu,  bedsteads,  or  any 
otlicr  iiidis|iciisab|c  utensils,  and  only  fit  to  jta.ss  the  monthly 
and  daily  reviews,  and  answer  for  the  lodging  })laee  of  the  six 
men  doing  the  guard  duty  as  the  main  guard  of  the  fortress, 
as  stateil  in  Chai>ter  0,  No.  89.  Therefore,  for  the  lodging  of 
the  escort  and  i-est  of  the  ti-oop  that  His  Majesty  directs  to  be 
aggregated  there,  it  is  indisjiensable  to  have  regular  lieadquar- 
terspr(jvided  with  bedding  and  other  a|)plianees,  and  a  suitable 
hospital  (oi-  the  cans  of  the  sick.  If  that  is  not  the  case,  this 
troop  can  not  succeed  nor  its  aggregation  carried  out. 

1)2.  And  although  the  regular  troop  might  relieve  the  escorts 
and  these  be  aggregated  to  the  garrison  and  His  Majesty  ac- 
cedes to  do  so  on  account  of  the  Royal  Treasury,  paying  for  the 
transportations,  lodgings,  and  hospital  for  the  fortress,  it  is 
necessary  to  carry  out  said  aggregations  by  means  of  new  regu- 
lations about  salai-ies.  If  the  civilians  of  the  escort  of  the 
Jesuits  are  paid  yearly  $182  and  the  troop  of  the  fortress  $120, 
of  whieb  they  only  receive  $112,  as  explained  l)efore,  it  is  to  be 
feared  that  this  inequality  of  salaries  for  the  same  service  may 
raise  com[)laints  and  pernicious  consequences.  It  is  therefore 
necessary  to  make  the  payments  daily  or  monthly,  as  the  an- 
nual payments  (as  practiced  heretofore)  prevent  them  from 
keeping  in  their  own  post  and  supplying  the  families  they 
leave  behind  in  their  homes. 

03.  And  supjjosing  that  the  troo])  (tithe  fortress  goes  to  the 
relief  of  the  escorts,  and  that  these  without  any  difficulty  are 
aggregated  to  the  garrison,  and  that  the  Royal  Treasury  pays 
for  their  transi)ortation,  lodging,  and  hospital,  that  a  new  regu- 
lation  is  issued  and  the  jtay  of  the  troop  of  the  fortress  raised 
to  $1.')2,  drawn  by  the  civilians  of  the  escorts,  and  that  said 
civilians'  salary  is  lowered  to  $120,  allowed  to  the  soldiers,  or  the 
$1  12.  which  is  all  they  receive,  and  that  the  salary  allowed  to 
both  is  paid  daily  or  monthly,  so  as  to  carry  out  the  aggrega- 
tio  n  without  disorder,  it  is  necessary  that  each  one  of  the 
launches  carry  an  officer,  and  that  the  number  l)e  increased  at 
the  fortress,  and  that  those  detached  on  the  launches  be  allowed 
some  compensation,  as  those  going  after  the  allotted  funds,  as 


141 

the  captain,  who  is  alh  wed  s'lOO.  only  receives  $560  after  the 
discount  of  the  transportation,  and  the  lieutenant,  drawing 
§450,  only  receives  8414,  for  the  same  reason,  and  the  standar<l- 
bearer  out  of  the  $372  only  receives  S343,  and  they  can  not 
afford  to  bear  the  expense  of  the  journey  without  the  suggested 
compensation  and  without  being  relieved  in  this  kind  of  serv- 
ice, as  the  one  going  three  consecutive  times  for  the  funds 
would  become  unable  to  continue.  The  escort  of  the  Jesuits, 
although  drawing  §995  a  year  for  the  captain,  may  afford  to 
go  up  and  down  the  Orinoco,  but  although  (badly  missed  at 
tlie  Missions)  lie  can  only  carry  one  launch  without  an  officer  at 
each  time,  carrying  detachments  to  tlieir  destinies,  no  doubt 
liable  to  desertions,  and  in  those  bare  and  miseraljle  settlements 
of  the  Mission,  through  which  he  is  at  liberty  to  go  thefts, 
quarrels,  and  disorders  may  happen,  very  painful  to  the  In- 
dians, or  at  least  long  delays,  increasing  the  expense  of  the 
launches,  crews,  and  stores. 

94.  In  conclusion  of  this  subject,  omitting  many  other  rea- 
sons, making  impossible  the  aggregation  of  the  escorts  to  the 
garrison  of  Guayana,  a  subject  that  will  be  dealt  with  farther 
on,  and  the  difficulties  of  which  have  been  already  explained, 
as  not  having  been  anticipated  by  those  who  sent  the  previous 
reports  to  His  Majesty,  I  shall  have  to  say  that  I  have  not  the 
least  doubt  that  if  the  intended  aggregation  of  the  escorts  to 
the  fortress  and  of  this  one  to  the  garrison,  serving  as  escorts 
before  that  is  done  twice,  there  shall  not  be  any  troops  left  to 
relieve  them,  nor  the  escort  of  civilians  to  be  aggregated  to 
the  garrison,  and  that  necessarily  things  should  return  to  the 
condition  in  which  they  are  to-day,  after  .some  difficulty  in  the 
way  of  settling  them. 

"And  the  25  of  the  fort  of  Limones,  owing  to  increase  this  total 
50  and  2  of  the  troop  of  Araya.'" 

95.  In  order  to  be  able  to  aggregate  to  the  garrison  of  the 
fortress  the  25  men  of  the  fort  of  Limones  I  have  endeavored 
to  inquire  exactly  where  they  are,  and  in  consequence  I  have 
ascertained  that  there  are  not  25  men  there  nor  ever  have  been. 


142 

and  that  the  report  sent  to  His  Majesty  on  this  subject  was  in- 
correct and  not  founded  on  real  facts,  which  1  related  from  the 
beginning. 

96.  In  the  year  1740  His  Majesty  appointed  the  Brigadier 
Don  Gregorio  de  Espinosa  as  Governor  of  Cumana,  with  the 
special  commission  of  fortifying  the  Island  of  Fajardo  or  An- 
gostura in  keeping  with  the  instructions  given  by  orders  of 
the  Council  to  the  Attorney  Don  Joseph  Borrul,  found  in  the 
accompanying  proceedings,  at  the  back  of  folio  42,  where,  be- 
sides other  things,  lie  was  re([uested  to  form  an  estimate  of  the 
annual  expense  of  the  troop  that  ouglit  to  garrison  the  fort,  the 
construction  of  which  was  entrusted  to  him,  and  to  give  a  re- 
port to  His  Majesty  by  the  first  opportunity  and  immediately 
to  the  Viceroy  of  Santa  Fe. 

97.  Espinosa  took  charge  of  his  commission  under  the  Royal 
instructions,  finding  in  a  most  deplorable  condition  the  fortress 
of  Guayana  in  the  same  year  of  1740  after  having  been  set  on 
fire  and  ransacked  by  the  English,  killing  some  of  the  neigh- 
bors and  dispersing  others,  as  it  is  stated  in  part  first,  Chapter 
7,  Nos.  2  and  3  of  the  proceedings,  under  date  of  the  oOth  of 
September,  1743.  Among  the  various  points  which  he  sub- 
mitted to  His  Majesty,  through  the  Supreme  Council,  he  pro- 
posed that  it  was  advisable  to  increase  the  service  of  the  for- 
tress of  Guayana  with  73  soldiers,  and  he  informed  likewise 
on  this  i)articular  point,  the  Viceroy  of  Santa  Fe,  who  was  at 
the  time  His  Excellency  Don  Sebastian  de  Eslava,  but  there  is 
no  record  in  these  archives  of  what  decision  was  arrived  at  by 
Plis  Excellency. 

98.  In  the  year  1745,  His  Majesty  a})})ointed  the  Brigadier 
Genci'al,  Dun  Diego  Tavares,  as  successor  to  Don  CTi-egorio  de 
Espinosa,  with  the  same  commission  to  pacify  the  Orinoco,  in 
the  terms  mentioned  in  the  })art  first.  Chapter  6,  No.  8,  and 
in  consequence  he  pro})Osed  to  said  \'iceroy  the  increase  of  30 
men  for  the  garrison  of  the  new  fort  of  San  Fernando,  and  the 
answer  on  this  point  was  in  the  following  words  :  But  in  re- 
fj<ii'd  to  the  increase  of  30  men  distributed  in  the  form  proposed  by 

Your  Honor,  I  should  like  to  know  whether  the  full  allowance  of 
100  for  Guayana  are  complete,  and  wluther  there  is  enough  people 


143 

to  Jill  the  30  men,  of  the  increase,  or  if  redncin//  to  this  number  the 
60  half  places,  as  contrived  by  Don  Gregorio  de  Espinosa,  it  should 
open  tJie  way  to  aggregate  insensibly  more  neighbors  with  the  same 
zeal  with  which  he  promoted  his  idea  without  failing  to  remove 
some  of  the  obstacles  that  heretofore  have  retarded  the  enforcement 
of  the  repeated  orders  from  His  Majesty,  as  it  is  shown  on  the 
back  of  folio  89  of  the  proceedings. 

99.  Under  date  of  tlie  12th  of  January,  1752,  Tavares  urged 
tlie  Viceroy,  wlio  was  at  the  time  His  Excellency,  the  Marquis 
del  Villar,  for  the  increase  of  the  30  men,  and  he  received  the 
following  answer  :  Having  not  thougld  convenient  to  extend  my 
powers  to  the  increase  of  the  30  men  in  the  company  of  the  Castle 
of  Guayana,  and  the  corresponding  salary  of  $5,325,  and  having 
no  orders  from  His  Majesty,  to  whom  Your  Honor  asserts  to  have 
reported  the  subject,  I  restrain  from  doing  so  for  want  of  a  resolu- 
tion to  your  consultation.  I  ivill  do  so  likewise  with  a  copy  of 
Your  Honoris  communication,  so  as  to  proceed  witli  more  accuracy 
in  resolutions  of  this  gravity.  As  it  is  shown  at  folio  92  of  the 
proceedings,  having  no  record  in  these  archives  of  documents, 
showing  the  date  of  the  representation  sent  by  Tavares  to  His 
Majesty  on  the  subject. 

100.  At  the  instance  of  the  Missioners  of  Piritu,  His  Majesty 
issued  the  following  Royal  Order  :  On  account  of  the  Father 
Missioners  of  the  Indians  of  Piritu,  it  has  been  represented  that 
since  the  year  of  1736  these  Missions  have  been  increased  ivith  five 
settlements  and  one  hospitium  in  the  new  city  of  Barcelona,  and 
that  at  present  there  are  26,  and  in  them  11,850  souls  under  the 
cliarge  of  28  Reverend  Fathers  and  one  layman,  ivJio  asked  permis- 
sion for  the  transportation  of  20  more  Missioners,  on  account  of 
the  Royal  Treasury.  His  Majesty,  after  being  informed  of  tlds 
instance,  and  of  the  exposition  about  the  same  of  tlie  Council  of 
Indies  in  consultation  of  the  11th  of  February  of  this  year,  bear- 
ing in  mind  the  new  commission,  entrusted  to  these  Missioners  with 
the  conimission  for  procuring  tlie  establishment  and  fou ndation  of 
settlements  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Orinoco  River,  an  idea 
which  was  supported  by  a  representation  of  the  Secular  Council  of 
New  Barcelona,  he  has  allowed  the  permission  for  tlie  transftr 
of  20  Reverend  FatJtcrs  with  the  purpose  of  preserving  tlie  old  Mis- 


144 

sioiis  tnol  csfa/i/ishiii;/  the  luir  oar,  that  JiciH  hern  projected  by  His 
Royal  Order  and  irith  n^hich  I  make  you  acrjuauited  hereby,  en- 
joining that  in  regard  to  tlie  ciiMr,(hj  of  troops  wanted  by  these 
Missioncrs  and  corresponding  to  both  objects,  Iff)  soldiers  are  to 
escort  them,  notwithstanding  His  Majesty  has  decided  to  leave  this 
])oint  to  the  discretion  of  Your  Honor,  directing  that  from  the  gar- 
rison of  the  Castle  of  Araya  a  competent  number  of  soldiers  be 
detached  so  as  to  stop  the  Caribs  from  assaulting  the  old  and  the 
new  3Iissioihs  that  have  to  be  formed,  taking  Your  Honor  the  surest 
ste2)s  and  giving  me  an  account  of  the  progress  obtained,  and  Your 
Honor  will  give  tlie  above-mentioned  escort,  in  case  that  you  think 
it  is  necessary.  The  above  resolution  is  brongld  to  your  notice,  so 
as  to  have  it  carried  out. — May  the  Lord  keep  Your  Honor's  life 
for  many  Years. — Madrid,  July  14-,  1752. —  The  Marquis  of  La 
Ensenada. —  To  Seilor  Don  Diego  Tavares. 

101.  And  at  the  instance  of  the  Catalan  Capuchin  Missioners, 
His  Majest}'  issued  the  following  resolution  :  The  Catalan  Capu- 
chin Missioners  of  the  jurisdiction  of  Guayana  have  represented 
the  injuries  and  deaths  perpetrated  in  their  Missions  at  some 
settlements  by  the  Caribs,  under  the  influence  of  the  Holland- 
ers from  Esequivo,  as  it  is  surmised,  on  account  of  their  having 
taken  refuge  in  said  Colony  and  because  the  Governor  of  the 
same  grants  them  letters  patent  to  make  slaves  of  all  the  In- 
dians whom  they  meet,  and  as  a  remedy  they  ask,  among  other 
things,  the  increase  of  their  escort,  up  to  40  men,  one  captain 
and  one  subaltern,  assigning  them  the  salaries  of  those  of  Santa 
Fe,  said  soldiers  being  well  qualified,  of  good  morals  and  hab- 
its, replacing  them  with  those  presented  by  the  Prefect  and 
Judges  of  the  Missions,  in  case  of  being  found  inadequate ;  and 
in  order  to  rescue  the  souls  of  the  rebellious  Caribs,  to  have 
them  pardoned  for  the  present  offence,  His  Majesty  being  in- 
formed of  this  representation  and  of  what  Your  Honor  exposed 
by  letter  on  the  subject,  and  the  report  of  the  Council  of  the 
Indies,  has  decided  that  Your  Honor  take  very  particular  care 
that  the  Missions  of  the  Reverend  Fathers  be  well  guarded, 
detaching  for  this  purpose  the  troop  that  you  may  find  suffi- 
cient from  that  in  your  charge,  and  even  by  detaching  a  por- 
tion of  that  of  the  Castle  of  Arava,  as  Your  Honor  does  not 


145 

consider  necessary  this  fortress,  accordin^^  to  the  advice  of  a 
further  letter,  and  in  case  that  you  do  not  find  convenient  to 
to  do  so,  Your  Honor  may  increase  the  number  of  men  that 
you  think  fit  for  the  fortress  of  Guayana,  in  order  to  afford  the 
required  protection,  being  of  the  approval  of  the  Viceroy  of 
Santa  Fe,to  whom  Your  Honor  will  send  a  report,  as  well  as 
to  His  ]\Iajesty,  for  approval.  His  Majesty  directs  likewise  that 
Your  Honor  take  particular  care  that  the  soldiers  of  the  escort 
be  of  the  best  morals  and  habits,  separating  and  replacing 
them  if  they  do  not  answer,  or  cause  any  apprehension  to  Your 
Honor,  after  receiving  the  reports  of  their  faults  from  the  Mis- 
sioners.  And  in  order  to  dispel  any  fears  on  the  part  of  the 
rebellious  Indians,  His  Majesty  desires  that  Your  Honor  in 
His  Royal  name  and  behalf  pardon  them  for  the  crime  of 
rebellion,  exhorting  and  cautioning  them  for  the  future. — May  the 
Lord  keep  Your  Honoris  life  for  many  years. — Madrid,  March  the 
30th,  1753. — The  Marquis  of  La  Ensenada. —  To  Sehor  Don  Diego 
Tavares. 

102.  The  foregoing  Royal  Orders,  although  addressed  to  Don 
Diego  Tavares,  were  received  by  his  successor,  Don  Matheo 
Gual,  who,  after  being  informed  of  their  contents  and  of  others, 
twenty  or  twenty-five,  for  the  same  purpose,  and  issued  at  dif- 
ferent times,  and  that  have  never  been  carried  out,  and  of 
what  his  predecessor  represented  to  His  Majesty, under  date  of 
the  30th  of  April,  1755,  he  submitted  to  His  Majesty,  that  in 
order  to  render  assistance  to  the  Reverend  Observant  Missions 
of  Piritu  and  to  the  Capuchins  of  Guayana,  and  better  security 
to  the  fortress,  it  was  necessary  to  form  a  company  composed 
of  one  lieutenant-captain,  a  sub-lieutenant,  and  70  men,  in- 
cluding the  corresponding  corporals,  and  that  the  annual 
salaries  will  amount  in  all  to  $10,017.  This  consultation 
brought  about  the  Royal  Order  issued  by  command  of  Your 
Excellency,  as  follows  :  Tlie  purser  of  the  Missions  of  Piritu  of 
this  jurisdiction  has  represented  that  notwithstanding  the  orders 
issued  in  the  year  1752,  for  the  purpose  of  granting  them  a  suita- 
ble escort,  had  not  been  carried  out,  and  making  a  punctual  nar- 
rative of  the  progress  of  said  Mission,  lie  has  repeatedly  urged  the 
same  request.     In  this  state  of  things  the  letter  of  Your  Honor  has 

Vol.  I,  Ven.— 10 


Jii'cn  received,  under  dttte  of  the  o'otlt  of  April  of  last  year,  1755, 
ill  satisfaction  to  the  order  communicated  to  your  prede.ccx.sor  on 
the  14.th  of  July,  1752,  and  proposing  for  the  r><cort  of  these  Mis- 
sions and  those  of  tJte  Capuchins  of  Guayann.  the  foniKilion  of 
one  company,  composed  of  one  captain,  one  lieutenant,  one  sub- 
lieutenant, and  70  men,  with  the  corresponding  corpolrals  aggre- 
gated to  the  fortress  of  Guayana,  at  an  annual  expense  of  $10,017 , 
and  the  King,  well  informed  of  all  that  is  ivanted,  directs  that 
these  Missions  he  attended  without  the  new  company  pro2')Osed 
to  that  end,  and  that  the  garrison  of  Guayana  he  detached  for  the 
purpose.  I  make  Your  Honor  acquainted  ivith  said  directions  for 
their  observance. — May  the  Lord  keep  Your  Honor's  life  for  many 
years. — Madrid,  March  -Jd,  1756. —  The  Bailiff,  Fr.  Don  Julian 
de' Arriaga  to  Senor  Don  Matlieo  GuuJ.  The  contents  of  this 
Ro.yal  Cetliile  and  of  the  others,  for  the  same  purpose,  above 
quoted,  have  never  been  carried  into  practice  for  various  good 
reasons  intervening,  and  on  which  T  will  dwell  in  another 
place. 

103.  His  Majesty  having  kindly  directed  me  to  make  a  state- 
ment as  to  the  utility  of  the  Castle  of  Araya,  under  date  of 
the  27th  of  August,  1761,  I  brought  to  His  Royal  notice  the 
inutility  of  said  fortification,  meantime  representing  the 
utmost  importance  of  the  fortress  of  (niayana ;  and  having 
]>aid  due  attention  to  the  Royal  Orders  and  other  circumstances 
for  the  increase  of  the  garrison  and  the  necessity  of  the  escort 
of  the  bodies  of  Missions,  I  represented  extensively  howini- 
l)ortant  it  was  to  the  Royal  service  the  establishment  in  the 
fortress  of  Ciuayana  of  a  new  company  with  a  captain,  lieu- 
tenant, sub-lieutenant  and  70  men,  as  proposed  by  my  prede- 
cessors, Don  Matheo  Gual  and  Don  Gregorio  de  Espinosa,  and 
that  from  there  the  necessary  assistance  should  be  given  to 
the  Missions  in  the  terms  proposed  in  my  representation. 
Those  are  the  onl}''  circumstances  connected  witli  the  increase 
of  the  garrison  of  the  fortress  of  Guayana  and  stronghold  of 
Limones  without  the  existence  of  any  documents  on  the 
sul)ject,  nor  in  connection  with  the  23  men  reported  to  His 
Majesty. 

104.  In  order  to  increase  said  iiarrison  with  73  more   men 


147 

represented  by  Espinosa  to  His  Majesty,  and  the  sixty  half 
places  he  proposed  to  the  ^^iceroy,  the  thirty  places  that  Gov- 
ernor Tavares  considered  necessary  to  garrison  the  small  fort 
of  Limones,  the  company  proposed  by  Gual  (lor  which  I  have 
made  a  new  request  in  my  consultation  of  the  ■27th  of  August), 
and  the  25  men  that  have  been  lately  reported  to  His  Majesty, 
a  Royal  resolution  is  necessary,  as  well  as  the  assignment  of 
funds  for  tlie  subsistence  of  the  troop  so  increased,  and  to  be 
added  to  the  garrison  as  soon  as  said  funds  are  assigned. 

105.  In  another  place,  in  its  proper  order,  and  as  I  have 
proposed  in  No.  (3  of  this  part  second,  I  will  expose  whatever 
else  I  judge  in  regard  to  the  52  men  of  the  garrison  of  Araya 
to  be  added  to  the  fortress  of  Guayana — 

"  That  the  Commander  of  Guayana,  without  loss  of  time,  forti- 
fies the  two  planes  in  front  of  the  eastern  and  western  forts 
of  the  small  fortification  of  Guayana  with  a  strong  pali- 
sade and  parapet  raised  with  sticks  and  earth,  and  that, 
from  there  to  the  eastern  plane's  cannons  of  large  caliber  be 
mounted,  to  defend  the  rear  of  the  castle  and  the  pass  to 
the  lagoons  Baratillo  and  Zeiba,  so  as  to  make  flank  shots 
in  protection  of  the  northern  side  of  the  fort  and  the  wej-t- 
ern  part  of  the  palisade,  and  from  this  with  smaller  artil- 
lery to  embarrass  the  ascent  of  the  enemy  by  way  of 
Baratillo.  That  he  must  raise  the  parapet  of  the  western 
curtain  and  place  there  in  position  three  6-pounders,  cov- 
ering the  front  with  a  second  palisade.  That  the  towers 
of  tlie  small  fort  be  laid  down  and  the  interior  square 
covered  with  tiles  upon  the  pillars  of  thick  and  hard  wood 
fixed  to  the  terre-plein,  touching  the  inner  face  of  the  par- 
ai)ets  of  the  curtains,  without  embarrassing  the  defences." 

106.  The  same  want  of  reflection  and  judgment  observed  in 
the  reports  to  His  Majesty,  in  regard  to  the  25  men  of  the  fort 
of  Limones,  is  found  in  what  concerns  the  i)alisade  of  tlie 
small  fort  of  Padrastro  of  Guayana  (many  years  ago  it  was 
[)rojected,  and  it  was  carried  out  last  year,  on  account  of  the 
war),  and  the  tower  and  small  house  upon  it,  on  account  of 
not  having  been  placed  in  the  possibility  or  impossibility  of 
constructing  them,  nor  the  utility  Jior  inutility  of  the  same,  as 
I  will  expose  at  the  proper  place. 


148 

1<>7.  In  tile  iii>tnirti()ii  uivoi  Ity  o filer  of  the  ( 'ouiicil  in  the 
attoriU'V,  Don  Joseph  Borrnh  touml  in  the  [)i'uci'e<lin,t^  at  the 
back  of  folio  42,  directions  were  ^^iven  to  Briga(li9r  Don  (ire- 
gorio  de  Espinosa,  for  the  construction  of  a  fort  in  tlie  Island 
of  Fajardo  or  Angostura,  ])rovide(l  tlie  expense  would  not  ex- 
ceed $10,000,  or  rather  !$1,000  more  or  less,  limiting  the  pow- 
ers so  as  not  to  incur  a  greater  expense.  Espinosa  was  aware 
that  Angostura  and  the  Island  of  Fajardo  were  not  the  }>roper 
places,  and  under  date  of  the  30th  of  8e})teml)er,  174o,  he  rep- 
resented to  His  ^[ajesty  that  the  al)Ovc  mentioned  fort  ought 
to  be  located  at  the  Island  of  Liinones,  in  front  of  the  Castle 
of  San  Francisco  de  Asis,  and  while  he  awaited  the  Royal  reso- 
lution lie  became  aware  of  the  indefensive  condition  of  the 
Castle  of  San  Francisco  and  the  other  fortitications  l)uilt  in 
Guayana,  if  the  Padrastro  mountain  was  not  duly  fortified. 
He  contrived  the  construction  of  a  small  fort  guarded  by  pali- 
sades arounil,  and  a  fosse  on  the  western  part,  making  these 
expenses  from  the  funds  of  fines  imposed  l)y  the  tribunal  of 
the  Governor,  for  want  of  powers  to  use  the  funds  of  the  Royal 
Treasury  for  that  |)ur{)ose.  The  greater  fortification  necessary 
there  was  not  commenced,  but  the  collection  was  made  of  $000 
on  account  of  fines.  While  things  were  in  this  condition  he 
was  relieved  by  his  successor,  Don  Diego  Tavares,  who  was 
entirely  in  accord  with  Espinosa's  ideas,  ami  in  order  to  carry 
them  out  he  continued  ap})lyingthe  fines,  u[)  to  the  amount  of 
$1,775,  to  the  construction  of  the  fort  of  San  Diego  ;  but  alter 
having  undertaken  the  work  he  found  it  was  not  suflicient  lo 
carry  it  to  a  full  com})letion,  and  finally  decided  to  finish  it 
with  funds  from  the  Royal  Treasury  to  the  amount  of  847-"), 
and  re{)ort  to  His  Majesty  his  resolution,  in  order  to  obtain 
his  approval,  as  it  was  done  by  the  cedule  of  the  21st  of  March, 
1750,  as  I  have  exposed  in  Chapter  9,  Nos.  44  up  to  4S,  where 
an  account  is  given  of  the  material  of  the  work,  and  in  fig.  0 
of  the  accomiianying  map  the  plan  isdisplayed  and  explained 
by  a  marginal  note,  but  nothing  was  decided  about  the  con- 
struction of  the  palisade  and  I'osso  on  account  of  the  Treasury, 
as  Tavares  di<l  not  take  the  responsibility  of  doing  so,  expect- 
ing to  be  able  to  raise  the  funds   for   the   purpose  ;    but   there 


149 

were  only  $87  at  the  time  he  was  relieved  Ijy  Don  Matheo 
Uual,  who,  havinii-  examined  the  fort,  aecepted  the  report  of 
his  predecessor  and  directed  at  once  the  openino;  of  the  fosse, 
as  indeed  it  was  done  during  his  government,  but  only  to  the 
extent  of  one-half  of  said  work,  besides  gathering  stones  for 
the  building  of  palisades. 

108.  At  the  time  of  my  general  visit,  and  among  other 
works  considered  necessary  in  that  fortification,  was  the  con- 
struction of  the  opening  of  the  fosse  and  the  protection  of  the 
fort  by  means  of  the  esplanade  formally  projected,  and  for 
which  I  ordered  an  estimate  of  the  expense,  including  the 
other  repairs,  with  a  view  of  reporting  the  result  to  the  Vice- 
roy of  Santa  Fe.  While  absorbed  in  this  project,  I  received 
the  Royal  Order  under  date  of  the  third  of  October,  1761,  in 
which  His  Majesty  cautioned  me,  enjoining  the  greatest  care 
as  in  time  of  an  open  war.  Therefore  I  took  every  prop.n-step 
to  furnish  that  fortress  with  the  gun  carriages,  ammunition 
and  other  elements  that  were  needed,  and  thinking  that  I 
ought  not  to  defer  and  await  the  resolution  of  the  Viceroy  for 
the  undcii'taking  of  the  works  and  ordinary  repairs  for  the  best 
defence  and  protection,  I  concluded  to  go  on  with  tlie  work 
under  the  terms  exposed  in  Chapter  9,  Nos.  27  to  31,  in  con- 
secj^uence  of  which  the  esplanade  was  made  as  it  appears  in 
the  plan,  figure  6  of  the  accompanying  map,  marked  with  the 
letters  E  E  E  E,  which  consists  of  a  thick,  low^  wall,  built  of 
stone  and  mortar,  about  1|  yards  high  and  three-quarters  of  a 
yard  thick,  and  the  stakes  spliced  with  it,  and  the  embrasures 
for  the  fire  of  the  artillery,  marked  with  the  interior  number 
of  said  plan.  The  fosse  was  finished,  having  10  yards  in 
breadth  and  3|  in  depth,  all  built  in  a  solid  rock  as  exposed 
in  No.  49,  Chapter  9,  and  is  seen  in  figure  6  with  a  special 
marginal  explanation  of  the  map. 

109.  On  the  strength,  undoubtedly,  of  a  few  confused  ideas 
derived  from  these  antecedents  it  was  deviced,  as  a  new  plan 
in  connection  with  the  utmost  importance  of  the  mountain  of 
Padrastro,  to  bring  to  the  notice  of  His  Majesty  the  usefulness 
of  the  palisade  on  the  same  and  a  second  one  below  on  the 
ground,  but  they  did  not  think  of  the  different  and   uneven 


150 

rocks  forming  the  niountaiii,  and  ns  s((li(l  ns  tlint.aml  tlieretbre 
very  ditticult,  if  not  impossible,  to  open  the  necessary  lioles 
for  bearing  the  stakes.  Tliey  did  not  think  that  there  was  no 
earth  on  the  mountain,  and  that  at  its  foot  and  2  leagues  around 
Guayana  there  is  only  sand,  in  s])ite  of  the  nianufacture  of 
brick  and  tiles  there,  as  that  is  done  with  the  mud  taken  out 
from  the  bed  of  the  lagoons  Zeilja  and  Baratillo,  containing  a 
great  portion  of  sand  that  makes  tlie  material  of  a  po(»r  (|uality. 
They  did  not  tiiink  that  even  if  they  had  soil  it  should  be  ex- 
pensive to  carry  it  up  to  the  mountain.  They  did  not  think 
of  the  ditticulty  of  pounding  the  eai'th  for  the  esplanades  on 
account  of  the  excessive  rains.  They  did  not  think  that  dur- 
ing two  or  three  months  the  waters  are  not  so  frequent,  and 
that  if  built  within  the  remaining  nine  months  of  tlie  year,  no 
matter  how  solid  and  strong,  they  can  not  resist  the  strength 
of  the  copious  showers  by  means  of  which  the  soil  or  earth 
contained  in  the  palisades  should  be  carried  down.  They  did 
not  think  that  the  ])alisades  of  eartli  and  the  one  projected  of 
stone  and  moj'tar  and  lime  (at  })resent  already  built)  is  a  very 
weak  defence  for  the  fort  of  San  Diego.  They  did  not  think 
that  this  one  and  its  esplanades  are  a  ri(hculous  defence  for 
the  paramount  importance  of  the  Paih-astro  mountain,  from 
which  the  safety  of  the  Orinoco  and  the  Provinces  through 
which  it  runs  depends.  And,  lastly,  they  did  not  think  that 
this  advantageous  site  required  a  formal  fortification  irrespect- 
ively of  expense,  and  that  the  armament  it  has  at  present  is 
provisional  and  through  the  devices  of  the  Governors,  who 
have  not  been  able  to  extend  their  powers  to  the  greatest  wants 
of  that  work,  laying  the  case  before  His  ^Majesty. 

110.  Many  persons  feel  i)ersuaded  of  the  convenience  of  cov- 
ering tlic  whole  of  the  small  fort  of  I'adrasti'o  with  a  tiled  roof 
on  wooden  pillars,  and  I  was  of  the  same  opinion,  at  the  time 
of  the  visit,  but  I  became  convinced,  as  the  rest  of  tlie  other 
l)arties,  of  the  solid  reasons  alleged  and  submitted  to  me  by  the 
Commander,  Don  Juan  de  Dios  Valdez,  and  the  other  oihcers 
present  there  at  tlie  time,  who,  after  having  heard  of  my 
ideas,  they  asked  me:  Where  is  the  place  for  the  garrison  to 
sleep,  l)ecause  in  the  fort  of  .San  Francisco  and  in  the  settle- 


151 

ment  around  nobody  sleeps  exposed  to  the  o|)en  air,  and  wlio- 
ever  does  so  is  soon  affected  with  fevers  and  other  malignant 
complaints;  that  in  order  to  avoid  these  consequences,  the 
garrison  was  compelled  to  make  three  hours  sentry  duty  in  the 
daytime  and  only  one  by  night,  covered  with  a  small  cloak  of 
rough  material  that  they  showed  me.  They  reminded  me  of 
what  they  had  formerly  insinuated  (and  that  I  had  already 
noticed  by  experience),  and  that  is,  that  from  5  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  it  is  necessary  to  wear  a  woolen  cloak  if  you  have  to 
keep  out  doors,  and  in  a  short  time  this  cloak  is  so  damp  as 
though  it  were  exposed  to  the  thickest  fog  in  winter,  and  to  this 
humidity,  as  shown  by  experience,  the  sickness  and  other  com- 
plaints experienced  there  are  attributed,  and  therefore  the  in- 
habitants try  to  retire  early  and  sleep  under  cover,  protected 
from  the  dew  ;  that  it  should  not  be  the  case  with  those  sleeping 
under  the  tiled  roof  of  the  fort,  if  opened  on  all  four  sides,  and 
consequently  it  would  subject  the  j^ersons  of  the  garrison  to 
many  kinds  of  complaints.  On  account  of  the  same  humidity 
there  should  not  be  a  fit  place  to  keep  the  powder  and  wadding- 
existing  in  that  fortification,  nor  where  to  keep  stores  for  eight 
days  if  it  was  necessary  to  gather  them  there. 

111.  I  was  made  to  understand,  besides,  that  the  tiled  roof  on 
pillars  could  not  avoid  the  penetration  of  the  waters  within  the 
10  yards  square  space,  which  is  all  there  is  at  that  fortification,  as 
beinp-  situated  on  the  summit  of  the  Padrastro  mountain,  and 
as  it  rains  all  around,  with  strong  and  squallv  winds  at  that 
elevation,  said  winds  will  introduce  the  water  through  the 
four  open  sides,  aiid  consequently  in  that  small  space  the  gar- 
rison could  not  be  sheltered,  unless  it  were  on  the  two  sentry 
boxes  shown  in. its  plan. 

112.  All  these  well-considered  reasons,  vindicated  by  experi- 
ence, persuaded  me  that  the  small  house  ought  not  to  subsist, 
consisting  of  4  square  yards,  Avith  a  high  and  low  room,  and 
on  this  a  wooden  box  to  keep  pow^der  in  cartridges  and  the 
waddings,  leaving  a  space  for  the  necessary  provisions  for^eight 
or  twelve  days,  and  in  that,  (accessible  through  a  wooden 
ladder),  the  troop  of  the  garrison  sleeps,  guarding  such  a  small 
fortification,  the  house  of  which,  although   in  poor  condition, 


152 

I  ordered  its  preservation,  as  far  as  possil)le,  while  T  would  in- 
form the  A'^ic-eroy  in  relereiice  to  its  new  coii.structi(jii,  and 
what  I  have  done,  and  that  he  approved,  as  shown  in  Chapter 
9,  Nos.  27  to  31. 

113.  If  all  that  I  have  exposed  liad  been  reflected  and  borne 
in  mind,  when  tlie  report  was  sent  to  His  Majestv,  undoulHedly 
they  should  not  have  moved  him  to  order  the  fortification  of 
the  most  important  mountain  of  Padrastro  by  means  of  useless 
earth  palisades,  nor  the  injurious  tiled  roof  of  the  small  fort, 
but  the  building  of  a  respectable  fortification  necessary  there, 
and  the  only  useful  expenses  to  be  made,  according  to  the 
opinion  of  engineers,  governors,  and  many  other  persons  ac- 
quainted with  the  subject  of  fortifying  the  Orinoco,  as  I  ex- 
posed by  way  of  notice  in  note  0  of  the  memorandum,  and  is 
plain  to  the  eye  of  the  least  qualified  person. 

"  That  Your  Honor  be  restricted  to  the  small  fort  of  Limones, 
with  counter-foundations  distant  0  feet,  drawing  4  feet 
more  than  its  foumlations  ;  and  that  the  terre-plein  be 
lowered,  so  as  to  measure  2i  feet  higli  ;  that  the  embrasures 
of  the  artillery  be  opened  and  the  same  placed  within  the 
portholes,  covering  all  the  Ibrt  with  a  flat  roof  upon  the 
bank  of  the  parapet,  leaving  one  skylight  for  the  commu- 
nication with  the  sentries.  That  afterwards,  four  8-pound- 
ers  be  mounted  in  position  to  defend  the  water  avenues, 
and  two  4-|)ounders  to  defend  the  land  avenues  and 
the  said  flat  roof  upon  which  four  swivel-guns  must  be 
mounted  on  their  crotches." 

114.  In  Chapter  6  of  part  first,  I  have  made  a  full  and 
well  authenticated  statement  of  the  antecedents  which  have 
originated  the  construction  of  the  fort  San  Fernando  and  the 
small  fort  of  Limones;  the  steps  that  have  been  taken  from 
the  year  1604  to  that  of  17G2,  in  regard  to  the  fortification  of 
the  Orinoco  and  all  the  events  that  have  taken  place  in  refer- 
ence to  this  subject,  down  to  the  time  of  the  receipt  of  the 
present  Royal  Order.  In  Chapter  9,  Nos.  from  50  to  88,  I 
have  specified  the  condition  of  the  fort,  its  shape,  diameters, 
the  want  of  solidity  of  the  ground  wlieiv  it  stands,  the  ten 
splits  from  top  to  bottom,  dividing  the  whole  of  the  work,  the 


153 

inevitable  total  ruin,  that  even  j)laced  in  perfect  shape  of 
security  it  can  not  subsist  in  tliat  place,  as  the  banks  ol  the 
Orinoco  come  near  it  and  will  in  time  sink  it;  that  the  serious 
dancrer  threatened  of  a  wider  bed  of  that  formidable  river  might 
make  useless  the  fortifications  of  Guayana ;  that  the  loss  of 
that  ground  already  effected  by  the  waters  will  be  irreparable, 
if  the  groves  and  woods  are  not  allowed  to  stand  on  the  banks 
from  which  they  were  removed,  and  that  the  jilague  of  insects 
})r()duced  by  the  waters  flooded,  where  the  fort  is  situated 
makes  the  whole  of  that  location  inhabitable,  as  well  as  tlie 
rest  of  tlie  muddy  islands  flooded  by  the  Orinoco.  And  here 
with  the  contents  of  the  two  chapters  1  will  show  the  useless- 
ness  of  the  expenses  of  the  counter-foundation  and  other  works 
called  for  by  the  Royal  Order,  and  the  want  of  intelligence  of 
those  who  reported  to  His  Majesty  the  circumstances  relative 
to  the  security  of  this  unfortunate  fortification. 

115.  The  surrounding  of  the  small  fort  of  Limones  with  coun- 
ter-foundations is  not  difficult,  and  may  be  done  by  means  of 
stakes  or  stone  and  mortar  construction  built  by  a  mason,  but 
it  was  not  understood  by  those  who  sent  the  report  to  His 
Majesty  that  the  ablest  engineers  could  by  means  of  counter- 
foundations  make  solid  the  ground  where  the  fort  stands,  as  it 
is  muddy,  sandy,  and  movable,  just  as  the  ground  of  the  refused 
Island  of  Limones,  and  that  these  woiks  should  only  make  it 
more  muddy  and  swampy,  especially,  the  mason  work,  having 
overlooked  the  circumstance  that  these  counter-foundations 
(might  prove  very  serviceable  and  advantageous  if  the  ground 
were  solid  and  the  weakness  were  only  noticed  in  the  founda- 
tions of  the  work  against  the  current)  are  useless  and  injurious 
when  there  is  no  solidity  in  the  ground  in  which  the  counter- 
foundation  can  not  absolutely  sustain  the  weight  of  the  work 
that  as  heretofore  will  continue  bending  the  center,  and  with 
it  the  counter-foundation,  if  they  are  built  of  sand  and  mortar, 
as  this  kind  of  device  is  never  used  to  keep  a  building  on  its 
level,  and  only  to  defend  and  support  the  foundations  which 
are  not  the  cause  of  the  ruin  of  the  fort,  but  only  the  want  of 
.solidity  of  the  ground  where  it  stands,  which  the  best  and 
most  practical  engineer  coitld  not  j)Ossibly  unite  and  consoli- 


154 

(late.  l>y  means  ot"  fountcr-toiindations  on  tlif  ten  places  where 
the  oval  t'orni  of  the  fort  is  already  split;  tliey  did  not  see  that 
110  matter  how  covers  and  repairs  are  intended  for  stopping 
the  ten  splits,  they  will  never  be  as  solid  again,  nor  waterproof 
against  the  inundations  of  the  Orinoco  River  (as  foreseen  by 
the  master  mason  Luque),  and  they  will  open  again,  as  expe- 
rience has  shown  to  be  the  fact,  Avithout  any  help  from  the 
construction  of  counter-foundations  that  will  never  keep  the 
heavy  weight  of  the  oval  construction  and  the  ten  quarters 
that  form  the  same.  The}''  did  not  see  that  by  uniting  and 
stopjiiug  the  ten  rents  no  engineer  could,  by  means  of  counter- 
foundations,  avoid  the  introduction  of  the  rains  so  continuous 
in  that  country,  nor  of  the  waters  of  the  Orinoco  River  during 
the  month  of  August  and  part  of  September,  when  the  fortifi- 
cation is  flooded  over  and  above  the  socle  and  several  yards 
from  the  surface  of  the  land.  They  did  not  think  that  any 
engineer  could  })revent,  by  means  of  counter-foundations,  the 
Orinoco  carrying  away  the  Ijanks  (more  elevated)  nearer  to 
the  fort,  nor  tlie  sinking  of  this  and  the  counter-foundations,, 
nor  the  expanding  of  the  bed  of  the  Orinoco  20  yards  over  the 
()0  that  have  been  already  spread  during  the  work,  as  the 
result  of  the  removal  of  the  trees,  the  roots  of  which  kept  to- 
gether such  frail  ground,  just  as  the  abandoned  Island  of 
Limones,  on  account  of  the  loss  of  ground  sustained  while 
clearing  it  of  trees.  They  did  not  see  that  counter-foundations 
do  not  remove  the  intolerable  plague  of  mosquitoes  and  insects, 
produced  by  the  Hoods  and  close  groves,  nor  did  they  find  out 
by  experience  that  this  plague  make  uninhabitable  that 
ground  and  every  other  of  the  kind. 

110.  The  lowering  of  the  terre-plein  to  2^  feet  high  does  not 
offer  the  least  difficulty,  but  they  did  not  know  when  they  re- 
ported the  fact  to  His  Majesty  that  the  terre-i)lein  of  2^  feet 
high  shall  be  from  the  end  of  July  to  tlie  middle  of  Septem- 
ber un(K'r  another  foot  and  a  half  of  water,  as  sucli  or  more  is 
the  elevation  of  the  Orinoco  waters  inundating  the  fort,  said 
waters,  even  without  the  ten  splits  dividing  the  work  around,, 
would  penetrate  tlirough  the  inner  part  of  the  terre-plein,  and 
will    raise  u[)  to  the   level  of  the   outside  waters,  and   to-day 


155 

without  any  difficulty,  they  will  come  in  and  go  t)ut  through- 
the  said  ten  splits  that  rise  from  the  very  bottom  of  the  foun- 
dation, and  to  prevent  the  waters  from  going  above  the  terre- 
plein  and  keep  this  structure  2h  feet  higher,  it  is  necessary 
that  above  the  surface  of  the  ground  with  the  contents  of  the 
earth  will  measure  nearl}^  7  feet  high,  and  thus  keep  the  de- 
sired 2h  feet  above  the  river  waters  at  their  higliest  point. 
They  did  not  see  that  besides  the  elevation  of  the  river  waters 
above  the  2^  feet  of  the  terre-plein  the  continual  rains  of  the 
year  w411  introduce  the  water  through  the  ten  splits  dividing 
the  work  from  the  parapet  to  the  very  foundation,  keeping  in 
the  interior  of  the  fort  an  inexhaustible  w^ell  (and  the  same 
should  happen  wath  the  7-foot  terre-plein),  without  any  possi- 
bility of  remedy  by  any  engineer,  without  joining  and  consoli- 
dating the  ten  splits,  which  is  as  impossible  as  the  solidity  of 
the  ground  on  which  the  oval  stands. 

117.  The  opening  of  portholes  from  the  ten  quarters  in 
which  the  fort  is  divided,  is  not  impracticable  at  a  more  or 
less  expense,  but  those  who  sent  the  report  to  His  Majesty  did 
not  understand  the  loss  of  strength  of  the  structure  already 
disfigured,  if  kept  standing  only  on  account  of  its  oval  shape 
and  the  eight  interior  counter-forts  that  adju.sted  to  each 
other  in  the  terre-plein  prevent  this  one  and  the  ten  cpiarters 
from  falling  outside,  and  that  the  portholes  (even  if  the  fort 
were  in  good  service),  not  having  been  built  with  the  work, 
will  now  break  the  wall,  and  its  thickness  of  2  yards  and  26 
inches  would  extenuate  the  strength  of  the  oval  fortification. 
They  did  not  see  that  if  the  portholes  w^ould  be  opened  at 
competent  distances  over  the  2i  feet  of  the  terre-plein,  they 
would  be  just  on  the  level  of  the  socle,  and  from  the  end  of 
July  to  the  middle  of  September  at  the  level  of  the  water,  be- 
ing 2  yards  and  26  inches  in  breadth,  and  that  in  order  to 
reduce  this  thickness  the  wall  should  be  proportionally  re- 
duced and  therefore  weakened.  If  the  portholes  are  placed  at 
8|  feet  above  the  ground  and  5h  above  the  socle,  and  just  above 
the  same,  the  7  feet  of  the  terre-plein,  they  should  have  2  yards 
and  some  inches  thickness,  which  is  all  the  breadth  of  the  wall 
in  that  part,  and  hardly  fit  to  show  the  mouth  of  a  24-pounder. 


156 

118.  Tlic  arrangement  of  tlie  artillery  with  two  guns  of  8 
■caliber  and  two  of  4,  firing  Jrom  their  i-espective  portholes  is 
very  easy,  but  tliose  who  sent  the  report  to  I  lis  Majesty  did 
not  see  that  the  fort  in  tlu'  pi'escnt  C(jndition  does  not  permit 
the  loading  of  the  artillery  on  the  terre-i)lein  nor  the  repetition 
of  the  discharges,  without  the  risk  of  the  ten  quarters  or  part 
of  them  bulging  out.  'i'hey  did  not  .see  tiiat  after  placing  the 
artillery  over  the  2h  feet  of  the  terre-})lein  it  would  be  sub- 
merged into  the  water  from  the  latter  ]>art  of  June  to  the  mid- 
dle of  September,  and  that  for  the  rest  of  the  year  has  to  play 
through  the  portholes  2  yards  and  26  inches  in  breadth  ;  and 
that  therefore  the  mouth  of  the  cannon  will  not  come  out  of 
the  wall.  That  the  discharge  of  the  cannon  will  (hnnage  the 
work  and  make  it  all  shake.  That  in  its  present  condition,  or 
even  if  it  were  in  perfect  security,  it  could  not  bear  the  alter- 
ation and  therefore  the  ruin  of  one  or  more  of  the  said  (piar- 
ters  is  inevitable,  as  well  as  evident  the  danger  of  the  men 
within  this  fortification.  The  same  thing  will  liap{)en  if  the 
artillery  be  mounted  on  the  7  feet  of  the  terre-plein,  playing 
through  their  corresponding  portholes  of  2  yards  and  several 
inches  broad.  They  were  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  the  interior 
of  the  oval  contained  eight  counter-forts,  and  that  these  struct- 
ures have  to  encumber  the  management  of  the  artillery  which 
is  to  be  placed  precisely  in  their  midst.  They  were  equally 
ignorant  that  with  the  2h  feet  of  the  terre-plein  the  water  will 
submerge  the  artillery  and  that  7  feet  are  recjuired  .so  as  to 
have  2h  feet  above  tlie  watei'.  and  that  this  ground  is  not 
solid  enough  for  the  construction  of  es[)lanades  strong  enough 
to  sup|)ort  the  artillery. 

They  did  not  consider  that  the  artillery,  j>lace(l  inside  of  the 
fort  and  firing  through  its  portholes  of  2  yards  in  breadth, 
could  only  play  on  a  level,  without  offending  the  embarkations 
navigating  the  river  close  to  the  high  bank,  and  the  rea.son 
for  the  construction  of  said  fort  which  will  besofai'  frustrated. 
They  (I'd  not  undei'stand  that,  with  the  two  (S-pcmnders  and 
the  two  4-pounders,  this  fortification  remains  defenceless,  as 
the  artihery  can  not  make  more  than  one  straight  sliot 
til  rough  its  two-yard-wide  purth(jles.     I'he   enemies  will   take 


o/ 

good  care  not  to  face  said  portholes  and  attack  the  fortification, 
on  its  sides.  They  did  not  think  that  in  the  present  condition 
of  this  fort  it  is  unable  to  resist  the  fire  of  a  (j-gun  sloop  with- 
out the  fall  of  })art  of  its  quarters,  and  that  said  sloop  may 
very  well  attack  it,  without  receiving  any  injury  from  the  two 
8-pounders  with  their  straight  shot,  as  it  has  been  explained. 
They  did  not  understand  that  the  eigiit  counter-forts  of  tliis 
fortification  occupy  a  large  part  of  the  lodgings  considered 
necessary  for  the  garrison,  which,  from  the  end  of  July  to  the 
middle  of  September,  would  have  to  remain  in  a  well  of  afoot 
and  a  half  of  water.  Tlie  inj})Ossibility  of  arranging  lodgings- 
for  the  garrison  is  aggravated,  on  account  of  the  dense  clouds 
of  mosquitoes  produced  by  the  muddy  ground.  These  mos- 
quitoes would  be  intolerable  in  the  interior  of  the  fort,  on  ac- 
count of  its  partial  or  total  want  of  ventilation,  the  extreme 
dampness  through  the  ten  rents  affecting  the  work,  as  well  as 
the  waters  of  the  Orinoco  all  around.  They  did  not  foresee  that 
the  interior  of  these  fortifications  can  not  hold  any  powder,  on 
account  of  the  dampness  and  the  risk  of  keeping  it  in  a 
wooden  box  wdiich  must  be  0|ten  for  the  use  of  the  artiller}^. 
which,  being  fired  from  the  interior  of  the  fort,  it  may  pos- 
sibly blow  out  said  box,  which  is  likewise  shown  to  the 
necessary  fire  kept  within  said  fortification,  especially  for 
cooking,  during  the  months  of  the  inundation  of  the  ground, 
when  it  is  not  possible  for  the  garrison  to  go  outside  for  their 
meals,  nor  to  have  them  brought  up  to  the  fortress.  And, 
finally,  they  did  not  calculate  that  even  if  the  ground  were 
solid,  free  from  mosquitoes,  and  that  the  Orinoco  should  not 
carry  away  the  banks,  it  would  be  easier,  cheaper,  and  a  gre;it 
deal  better  to  build  a  new  fort,  rather  than  to  have  its  counter- 
foundations  newly  built,  reducing  the  terre-plein,  opening  new 
portholes,  fixing  their  ports,  building  a  flat  roof  and  mounting 
the  artillery,  remaining  after  all  these  improvements  in  as  use- 
less condition  as  it  is  now.  And  if  they  had  reflected  and  under- 
stood the  above  inconveniences  and  others  that  I  have  to  omit, 
they  ought  to  have  reported  to  His  Majesty  the  necessity  of 
abandoning  the  small  fort  of  Limones  and  fortifying  the  Pa- 
drastro  mountain  as  the  only  advantageous  spot  for  the  de- 


158 

fence  of  the  Orinoco  River  and  the  Provinces,  through  the 
territories  of  which  it  runs,  and  that  spot  may  be  fortified  with 
safety,  according  to  the  judgment  of  the  Governors  and  the 
engineers  who  liave  l)een  commissioned  by  His  Majesty  for 
the  purpose,  as  T  liave  exposed  by  way  of  reference  in  note  9  of 
my  memorandum. 

^'  That  the  stones  taken  out  of  the  small  fort  be  left  at  its  foot 
and  defend  with  loose  stones  the  eastern  ])oint  of  the  Li- 
moiic'S  creek." 

119.  To  leave  at  the  foot  of  the  fort  tlie  stones  taken  out 
from  its  interior  })ortion,  J  am  not  })ersuaded  that  it  has  any 
other  advantage  than  saving  the  expense  of  removing  them 
away,  nor  any  other  disadvantage  than  encumbering  that  weak 
ground  with  that  new  inconvenience  around  the  fort. 

120.  To  defend  with  loose  stones  the  eastern  point  of  the 
Limones  creek,  besides  being  expensive  is  impossible,  notwith- 
standing the  report  sent  to  His  Majesty  that  ought  to  have 
been  originated,  on  account  of  the  ignorance  that  the  creek  of 
Limones  is  so  called  with  reference  to  the  Orinoco  River,  that 
in  certain  times  of  the  year  contains  more  water  than  the 
deepest  cut  of  Aranjui  z  during  its  greatest  floods,  and  that  no 
rivers  of  this  magnitude  can  be  stopped  by  means  of  loose 
stones.  According  to  the  observations  which,  by  order  of  the 
Governor,  Don  Diego  Tavares,  were  made  by  the  connnander 
of  the  garrison,  Don  Juan  de  Dios  Valdez,  in  the  years  1749, 
1750,  and  1752,  of  which  he  made  an  authenticated  copy,  found 
in  the  proceedings  from  folio  55,  it  appears  that  the  Limones 
creek  is  over  20  yards  wide,  its  banks  6  yards  high,  with  a 
quicksand  bottom,  that  at  the  earliest  part  of  May  it  begins  to 
receive  water,  and  keeps  growing  up  until  the  end  of  July,  at 
wliieh  timi'  tliose  of  the  Orinoco  and  of  the  creek  fall  together 
in  one  body  and  inundate  the  Island  of  Limones,  its  surround- 
ings and  what  is  called  mainland,  where  the  fort  is  situated, 
with  an  elevation  of  six  (juarters  (of  a  yard)  above  the  highest 
})oint  of  tiiat  ground,  so  that  by  tlie  end  of  July  tlie  said  Li- 
mones creek  is  over  20  yards  wide  and  9  deep,  continuing  so 


159 

full  until  the  middle  of  September,  when  the  waters  of  the 
Orinoco  begin  to  fall,  and  at  the  same  time  those  of  the  creek, 
until  the  end  of  November,  when  it  is  entirely  dry,  and  so  it 
keeps  until  the  following  May. 

Upon  this  supposition,  I  say,  it  is  very  easy,  during  the  six 
months  when  it  is  dry,  to  throw  all  the  loose  stones  wanted 
and  place  them  in  any  way  desired,  but  as  said  stones  have  to  be 
thrown  uj)on  quicksand  and  on  a  steep  slope  to  the  depth  of 
80  fathoms,  the  depth  of  the  Orinoco  during  those  months,  it 
will  not  be  possible  to  resist  the  strong  current  of  the  Limones 
creek,  during  the  months  in  which  its  channfel  is  20  yards 
wide  and  8  or  9  deep,  and  thus  the  current  should  certainl}' 
carry  away  Avith  the  moving  sand  all  the  loose  stones  to  the 
bottom  of  the  Orinoco  or  else  the  stones  become  embedded 
below  the  sand.  And  if  there  was  any  such  resistance  and  the 
stones  were  not  embedded  nor  carried  away,  what  is  to  become 
of  the  sandy  Island  of  Limones  and  of  what  they  call  main- 
land? The  waters  of  the  Patapaima  creek  enter  into  that  of 
Limones  and  can  not  retrocede  against  the  force  of  the  Orinoco 
impelling  them,  and  they  will  continue  their  course,  sweeping 
along  with  them  everything  in  their  way.  An  examination 
could  be  made,  with  an  expense  of  §500  to  §600,  by  throwing 
one  hundred  launch  loads  of  loose  stones  in  the  creek,  and  if 
they  stand  the  first  flood  and  at  the  first  low  ebb  should  be 
found  in  the  same  place  where  they  were  thrown  down,  it  will 
be  an  evidence  of  the  accuracy  of  the  report  sent  to  His 
Majesty,  but  if  said  one  hundred  launch  loads  of  loose  stones 
are  found  embedded  in  the  sand  or  carried  away  to  the  bottom  of 
the  Orinoco,  (as  I  have  no  doubt  it  will  turn  out  to  be  the  case), 
it  will  be  understood  that  this  inconvenience  was  not  properly 
anticipated,  and  that  they  were  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  in  order 
to  stop  that  creek  the  Orinoco  or  any  other  river  from  carry- 
ing away  the  ground  with  their  current,  the  best  supporters 
are  the  trees  with  their  roots.  They  were  likewise  ignorant  of 
the  fact  that  the  Orinoco  had  carried  away  23  yards  from  the 
Island  of  Limones,  on  account  of  having  cut  down  the  clusters 
of  trees  that  held  together  the  banks,  and  that  as  soon  as  new 
roots  commenced   to  grow  they  stopped   the  loss  of  ground 


160 

wliicli  liail  taken  place  in  what  is  cilliMJ  niainland.  wluai  thev 
liave  t-leared  about  00  yards  of  trees,  wliati'Vci-  else  is  likewise 
cleared  of  trees,  will  he  carried  away  in  fnturc  The  loose 
stones  thrown  on  the  niainland  or  the  Island  of  Liniones  will 
not  stop  it,  as  reported  to  His  Majesty,  as  the  stones  niay  stop 
and  u'ather  the  waters  of  a  mill,  but  not  the  {)owerfnl  Orinoco 
and  its  moi'c  violent  creeks,  larger  and  more  i'a})id  than  the- 
most  rcnowncil  rivers  of  Spain. 

"  That  two  Canarian  launches  be  constructed,  one  for  the  ser- 
vice of  the  garrison  of  the  forts,  and  the  other  to  be  kept 
at  Angostura." 

121.  My  predecessors  have  all  considered  necessary  one  or 
two  armed  launches  for  the  fortress  of  Guayana,  well  manned 
for  cruising  at  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco  River,  and  other  uses 
submitted  to  His  Majesty  by  the  Marquis  of  San  Philipe  in 
his  memorials  al)ove  mentioned,  Nos.  4  and  5  of  Chapter  0, 
and  that  their  crews  be  paid  so  as  to  avoid  the  evil  conse- 
([uences  ex[)lained  by  the  Marquis  in  his  second  memorial ; 
but  neither  myself  nor  my  predecessor  have  been  detained  by 
the  cost  of  the  launclies,  which  in  that  country  is  very  limited, 
and  each  one  could  be  built  for  '^oOO,  and  I,  without  expense 
to  the  Royal  Treasury,  should  have  employed  two  of  them 
seized  and  confiscated  in  my  time.  The  difficulty  has  been 
on  account  of  the  soldiers  and  stores  for  the  crews,  and  so  I 
say,  that  in  constructing  the  two  launches  reported  to  His 
Majesty,  it  is  very  easy,  ami  will  only  cost  $<><>(),  but  if  they 
must  be  armed  and  manned  for  cruising  purposes,  §8,000  a 
year  will  be  recpiired  in  this  way  :  8  sailors  and  one  pilot  at 
$8  each  sailor  and  slo  the  pilot,  will  cost  $1,776  a  year;  a 
real  (one  dime)  for  each  ration  every  day,  §827  ;  careening 
and  re})airingof  oars  and  boot-tops,  §100  ;  making  in  all  §2,690. 
To  this  amount  the  daily  ration  of  the  troops  must  be  added 
when  on  l)oard,  it  will  be  more  or  less,  as  the  case  may  demand. 
That  if  said  launclies  are  kept  doing  only  the  service  of  bring- 
ing stores  to  Angostura  and  shij)i)ing  them  from  the  Province 
of  Cumana,  the  cost  will  not  be  §3,000  a  year,  as  there  will  not 
be  any  troop  and  the  crew  may  be  eomjiosed  of  Indians  from 


IGl 

the  Missions,  wlio  are  only  paid  S4  a  month  and  the  daily 
ration.  That  in  order  to  be  accurate  on  this  subject,  it  is 
necessary  that  His  Majesty  kindly  designates  the  exact  ser- 
vice, and  in  proportion  to  order  the  payment  from  the  Royal 
Treasury  of  Santa  Fe,  or  wherever  his  Majesty  finds  it  con- 
venient, of  $3,000  for  the  cruising  service,  and  $2,000  for  the 
traveling  service  onl}^,  and  when  that  is  done,  said  vessels  may 
be  constructed  and  seafaring  men  mustered  into  the  service, 
aggregating  them  to  the  fortress  for  the  performance  of  their 
duty,  and  if  the  case  is  not  as  I  have  stated,  it  will  not  be 
carried  out,  notwithstanding  the  report  sent  to  His  Majesty, 
founded  on  vagaries  and  vague  ideas  heard  and  accepted, 
without  examining  the  difficulties  for  the  establishment  and 
performance  of  said  launches,  in  ignorance  of  the  representa- 
tion seiit  to  His  Majesty  by  tiie  Marquis  of  San  Philipe,  and 
the  report  of  the  Governor  remaining  yet  unanswered. 

"  That  meantime,  and  pending  tiiese  works,  which  must  be  paid 
out  of  the  funds  assigned  for  the  construction  of  the  fort  of 
Limones,  Your  Honor  will  separate  the  southern  bank  of 
Angostura  and  at  once  direct  the  transfer  of  all  its  cattle 
and  have  them  pastured  above  said  place." 

122.  For  the  construction  of  the  fort  of  Limones  there  is  no 
branch  of  revenue  assigned  by  His  Majesty,  but  only  fixed 
amounts.  The  first  one  of  $16,000,  by  the  Royal  Order  issued 
through  His  Excellenc}'  the  Marquis  de  la  Ensenada,  as  it  is 
shown  at  No.  10  of  Chapter  6,  and  the  second  one  of  $9,204  one 
and  a  half  reals,  by  the  same  Royal  Order  communicated  by 
Your  Excellency  and  mentioned  in  Nos.  14  and  15  of  the  same 
Chapter  6,  making  both  amounts  a  total  of  $25,204  one  and  a 
half  reals,  to  which  must  be  added  $343  and  1  real  and  19  mara- 
vedis,  of  various  fines  applied  to  the  same  purpose,  making 
altogether  $25,550,  3  reals  and  12  maravedis,  of  which  $25,035 
have  been  expended  in  the  construction  of  the  fort,  including 
what  is  due  to  Don  Juan  de  DiosYaldez,  whose  account  is  still 
pending,  as  is  shown  by  the  accompanying  act  to  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  23d  of  September,  1761,  by  which  he  shows 
His  Majesty  the  deplorable  condition  of  the  fort  of  San  Fer- 

VoL.  1,  Ven.— 11 


162 

iiando  and  the  funds  expended  as  balance  of  what  lias  been 
assigned  for  its  construction,  $500  more  or  less,  the  only 
amount  that  His  Majesty  assigns  for  the  enterprise  ot  works 
described  by  his  Royal  Order  and  thosf  issued  in  consequence, 
and  for  which  $300,000  are  necessary,  and  if  they  are  C()ni- 
pleted  tiie  Orinoco  is  fortified,  as  it  is  necessary,  $100,000,  and 
perhaps  more,  besides,  will  be  needed  t(j  Ijring  things  back  to 
the  condition  in  which  they  are  to-daw  imtwithstanding  the 
facilities  reported  to  His  Majesty,  Avithout  any  |)r()per  knowl- 
edge and  concealing  the  great  expense  involved.  The  three 
or  four  liuiidre(l  tliousand  dollars  arc  inexcusable  for  the  exact 
complianc-e  with  what  His  Majesty  directs  to  be  done  and  for 
the  fortification  of  the  Orinoco  afterwards,  with  no  otlior  funds 
in  hand  than  SoOO,  and  only  on  that  account,  even  if  not  Ibl- 
lowed  by  irreparable  injuries  and  the  difficulties  already  ex- 
plained, I  ought  to  suspend  the  enforcement  of  said  Koyal 
(Jrder  until  His  Majesty,  well  informed  of  everything  that  I 
have  submitted  to  His  Sovereign  consideration,  decides  what 
will  be  his  pleasure  on  the  subject. 

123.  In  the  foregoing  numbers,  from  21  to  25,  I  have  shown 
part  of  the  irreparable  injuries,  large  expenses  and  unavoidable 
difficulties,  making  impossible  the  transfer  of  the  city  of 
Guayana  to  the  site  of  Angostura,  and  1  will  contiinie 
here  dealing  with  the  same  subject  and  stating  that  even  if 
the  inhabitants  of  Guayana  were  reim])ursed  of  the  $5!), 200, 
the  lowest  valuation  of  their  30  plantations  and  73  dwelling- 
houses  which  they  possess,  many  years  Avill  be  necessary  lor 
the  transfer  of  the  city  so  as  to  do  it  with  ease  and  conveni- 
ence. For  tliat  purpose  other  plantations  ought  to  be  pre- 
pared, as  well  as  a  good  portion  of  the  73  houses  tor  the  ac- 
commodation of  the  90  families  who  are  oecu[)ying  them  at 
present  around  the  fortress.  That  should  ])e  all  carried  out 
slowly,  even  where  there  arc  good  farming  lands  close  to  the 
.settlements  to  be  [jrovidcd  with  said  necessaries.  The  loca- 
tion of  Angostura,  with  bare  emi)ty  grounds  around,  without 
wood,  grass,  or  fertile  lands,  could  not  be  made  accessible 
within  t\vent3'-f]ve  or  thirty  years.  As  an  cviilence  of  the  fact,. 
1  will  pro(lu;-c  four  instances,  one  of  thi-m    the    same  city  of 


163 

Guaj'ana,  founded    in    the   year  1579.     What    has  Ijeen    ad- 
vanced in  the  same  settlement  within  the  184  3'ears  of  its  ex- 
istence?    All  the  improvements  found  possible  are  reduced  ta 
the  congregation    of  90  poor   mustee   families,  including  mu- 
lattoes,  negroes,  the  officers,  and  6  or  8    white  families,  the 
building  of  73  houses,  one  church   covered  with  palm  leaves, 
and  the  repairing  of  the  fortifications  in  the  terms  exposed  in 
Chapter  7,  besides  the  establishment  of  30  small  plantations, 
as  shown  in  Chapter  9,  No.  91.     Therefore,  if  in  the  184  years, 
and  with  all  the  work  performed,  the  improvements  are  so  very 
few,  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  in  a  short  time  could  Angos- 
tura and  its  extensive  bare  grounds  do  much  better  and  obtain 
happy  progresses.     The  second  instance  is  that  of  the  city  of 
Real  Corona,  founded  by  the  chief  of  squadron  Don  Joseph 
de  Iturriaga,  in  which  large  sums  from  the  Treasury  were  ex- 
pended ;  and  what  was  the  result  ?    It  is  stated  in  Nos.  93  and 
96  of  Chapter  9.     The  third  instance  will  be  that  of  Ciudad 
Real  de  Uyapy,  founded  by  the  same  chief  of  squadrons,  Don 
Joseph  de  Iturriaga,  at  the  expense  of  the  Royal  Treasury ;  and 
what  is  its  condition  or  its  improvements  after  eight  years  of 
labor?     See  No.  97  of  said  Chapter  9.     The  fourth  instance  is 
the  city  of  San    Fernando,  projected  and   undertaken    by  the 
third  Commissioner,  Don  Joseph  Solano,  and    in   which  he 
worked  three  or  four  years,  expending  large  amounts  of  money 
from  the  Royal  Treasury,  and  the  result  of  what  has  become 
nf  said  city  is  found  in  No'*.  98  to  100  of  Chapter  9. 

Therefore  if  these  cities,  after  having  been  settled  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  Royal  Treasury,  have  met  with  such  an  unfortu- 
nate result,  it  could  not  be  expected  any  better  end  to  the 
projected  city  of  Guayana,  even  distributing  $59,200,  value  of 
the  houses  and  plantations,  among  the  inhabitants  and  owners, 
and  if  the  said  amount  were  not  paid  to  them,  it  is  not  diffi- 
cult to  persuade  them  to  go  to  Angostura  to  establish  a  new 
city.  By  that  I  do  not  mean  thiit  it  will  be  impossible  to  make 
them  remove  from  there  ;  on  the  contrary,  I  think  it  is  very 
easy  and  practicable  within  two  months,  or  even  eight  days, 
if  it  were  so  desired,  but  it  will  be  necessary  for  doing 
that  to  fill  three  conditions  ;  the  first  should  be  the  use  of  force, 


164 

to  whic'li  those  poor  iiiluibitaiits  could  not  resist,  exce[»t  by 
means  ol  tears  and  rejj,rets  for  the  aljandonnient  of  tlieir  small 
plantations  and  dwelling-houses  which  they  possess,  in  order 
to  be  conveyed  to  along  bare  bank  of  the  river,  100  leagues 
far  from  any  settlement  from  where  to  secure  any  help,  having 
the  great  Orinoco  River  across.  These  complaints  began  as 
soon  as  the  report  cf  the  transfer  was  heard,  when  several  in- 
habitants came  to  me  and  expressed  their  desires  to  abandon 
the  fortress  and  come  over  to  this  Province,  and  part  of  the 
troop  under  various  pretexts  tried  to  ol)tain  leave  of  absence. 
In  order  to  dispel  their  fears  1  felt  comj»elU'd  to  write  to  the 
commander  of  the  forti'ess  to  assure  them  all  tiiat  there  should 
not  be  any  such  transfer ;  that  I  would  submit  the  subject  to 
His  Majesty  so  as  to  quiet  their  feelings,  as  it  was  done,  accord- 
ing to  the  report  received  by  letter  from  the  commander, 
copied  authentically  at  the  back  of  folio  207  of  the  proceed- 
ings, and  other  documents  remaining  at  the  office  of  the  Sec- 
retary of  this  Government ;  but  notwithstanding  if  they  are 
directed  to  transfer  tlieir  residence  they  will  readily  do  so. 
The  second  condition  should  be  to  pay  from  the  Royal  Treas- 
ury a  daily  ration  to  each  jierson  of  the  90  families  to  be  re- 
moved, as  it  has  been  done  with  those  of  the  Real  Corona, 
Ciudad  Real,  and  San  Fernando,  as  otherwise  it  will  become 
impossible  tlie  subsistence  of  the  535  persons  composing  said 
90  families,  nor  the  others  that  His  Majesty  desires  to  aggre- 
gate to  tliem.  The  daily  rations  for  535  persons,  including 
transportation,  stores,  and  other  contingencies,  will  make  an 
annual  expense  of  $20,000  to  $24,000,  and  may  be  $30,000,  if 
the  troops  have  to  be  added,  as  directed  by  the  Royal  Order, 
and  as  the  entries  of  the  Royal  Treasury  will  not  be  in  con- 
dition to  meet  this  indisi)ensable  expense  in  less  than  eight  or 
ten  years,  the  transfer  will  be  made,  but  not  the  i)ayment  of 
the  subsistence  of  the  90  families  and  the  other  troo])S  to  be 
aggregated.  The  third  condition  should  ])e  tliat  His  Majesty 
kindly  fixes  the  penalty  of  those  inhabitants  of  Guayana  who 
withdrawing  from  there  to  other  places  do  not  go  to  An- 
gostura, as  there  is  no  penalty  l)y  the  present  Royal  laws  for 
the  change  of  residence,  and  if  the  now  settlers  do  not  fear  anv 


165 

penalty  the}'  are  liable  to  cross  the  Orinoco  River  in  quest  of 
homes  at  any  other  settlement  in  the  Provinces  of  Barcelona, 
Cumana,  or  Caracas.  It  will  be  very  likely  to  happen  so,  if 
they  are  compelled  by  actual  want,  as  there  is  no  way  in  that 
barren  country  to  secure  the  necessaries  of  life.  His  Majesty 
will  kindly  state  whether  those  who  settle  in  any  other  popu- 
lation may  be  removed  from  it,  compelling  them  to  reside  in 
the  new  city  or  cities.  The  chief  of  squadron,  Don  Joseph  de 
Iturriaga,  asked  me  to  apprehend  and  send  to  him  those  per- 
sons who  abandoned  the  city  of  Corona  Real,  and  I  do  not 
know  what  must  I  do  about  this  subject,  being  persuaded  that 
none  of  these  inconveniences  were  anticipated  or  foreseen 
when  they  sent  their  reports  to  His  Majesty. 

124.  The  bovine  cattle  estates  owned  by  the  neighbors  of 
Guayana  are  not  situated  within  the  limits  of  that  Province, 
but  on  the  opposite  side  in  the  Province  of  Barcelona,  such  as 
those  owned  by  Franco,  Ferreras,  Pinto  and   other  persons, 
and   they    are   not    represented    in    the   accompanying   map. 
There  never  were  in  Guayana  any  other  cattle  estates  than 
those  belonging  to-day  to  the  Mission,  with  14,000  to  16,000 
heads  (as  shown  by  the  tenth  note  of  my  memorandum  of  re- 
ports), situated  40  or  50  leagues  inland  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  Missions  of  Yuruari  and  Avechica,  and  from  that  stock 
they  take  what  they  want  for  the  16  Missions — what  they  call 
the  troop  cattle  estate  established  at  the  cost  of  said  Mission, 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  fortress,  as  marked  in  the  accom- 
panying map,  by  order  of  the  Governor,  Don  Gregorio  de  Es- 
pinosa,  of  which   there  was  never  any  product,  for  want  of 
pasture  grounds  on  the  banks  of  the  Orinoco  River,  and  the 
plague  of  insects  around  the  lagoons  and  swampy  ground, 
only  existing  at  the  time  of  my  general  visit  about  70  to  80 
heads  of  cattle,  which  were  donated  to  the  church  by  the  said 
troop  in  order  to  help  the  building  of  it.    That  was  the  end  of 
that  extinguished  herd  of  cattle.     I  do  not  understand  what 
reasons  induced  the  authors  of  the  report  sent  to  His  Majesty 
to  state  that,  in  the  said  Province  there  was  cattle  to  be  trans- 
ferred to  Angostura,  and  that  if  it  existed  it  was  easy  to  keep 
it  in  tliose  extensive  shores. 


166 

"That  Your  Honor  docs  not  permit  the  sowing  of  green  vege- 
tables on  the  Ixinks  of  the  Orinoco  below  Angostura." 

125.  Once  the  transfer  of  Guayana  to  Angostura  carried  out 
the  abandonment  of  the  plantations  will  follow,  as  it  will  not 
be  possible  to  continue  tlieir  cultivation  at  a  distance  of  20 
leagues,  and  while  the  transfer  is  in  process  of  completion  the 
inhabitants  will  be  prevented   from  planting  new  farms  and 
shall   have  to  destroy  by  fire  or  otherwise  those  which  they 
possess.     It  will  be  necessary  to  allow  the  inhabitants  daily 
rations  at  Angostura,  as  otherwise  they  could  not  subsist,  even 
if  the}'  would  remain  at  the  fortress,  when   the  products  from 
the  interior  Mission  are  not  sufficient  to  support  tiie  53o  per- 
sons composing  the  90  families  already  mentioned  in  Nos.  66 
and  68,  and  those  quoted   in  said  numbers.     These  circum- 
stances were  not  tljought  of  at  the  time  of  sending  to  His 
Majesty  the  report  referred  to.     At  the  margin  of  the  Orinoco 
River  are  situated  the  four  Missions  of  Piacoa,  Aripuco,  Caroni, 
and  Aguacagua,  as  represented  in  No.  6.     Said  four  settlements 
do  not  afford  any  assistance  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  fortress, 
but  do  not  depend  from  it  nor  from  the  inland  Missions,  their 
inhabitants  have  their  own   farms,  that,  although  small  and 
not  abundant,  on  account  of  the  poor  land,  they  derive  their 
own  subsistence  from  tliem,  and  if  these  Indians  are  forbidden 
from  continuing  in  their  own  grounds  on  the  margin  of  the 
Orinoco,  they  could  not  subsist  unless  at  the  cx})ense  of  the 
Royal  Treasury  or  compelled   to  go  farther   inland,  and  that 
would  be  still  more  difficult  tiuin  the  transfer  from  Guayana, 
and  if  forced  to  do  so  the  loss  of  the  ]\lissions  recently  founded 
will  ensue,  as  shown   in  the  accompanying  proceeding  from 
folios  145  to  148,  and  some  of  these  Indians  will  go  back  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Orinoco  from  where  they  have  been  removed  at 
a  great  expense  and  labor. 

"  That  at  the  same  time  the  Indian  settlement  of  Suay  is  to  be 
removed  witli  all  the  cattle  kept  there." 

126.  The  Mission  of  Suay  is  situated  2^  leagues  to  the  south 
of  the  Guavana  fortress,  has  no  cattle,  and,  as  the  rest  of  them, 


167 

in  charge  of  the  Catalan  Capuchins,  is  supplied  from  the  cattle 
■estate  known  as  the  property  of  the  Mission,  situated  50  leagues 
inland,  as  I  have  alrearl}'  stated.  It  draws  its  subsistence  from 
their  farms  in  })Oor  lands,  such  as  those  of  Piacoa,  Aripuco, 
Caroni,  and  Aguacagua,  that  do  not  render  any  help  in  the 
way  of  provisions  to  the  fortress.  It  is  the  oldest  settlement, 
and  was  founded  in  the  year  1724,  as  shown  by  Chapter  8, 
No.  2.  Their  natives  are  talkative  and  well  educated.  It  is 
one  of  the  three  Missions  where  to  the  present  time  they  have 
not  been  able  to  build  a  church.  Their  municipal  house  is  held 
by  the  community,  with  a  library  and  the  archives.  They 
have  a  good  jail  and  a  hospitium  for  the  inland  Indians 
bringing  provisions  to  Guayana  by  way  of  said  Mission.  From 
tliere  they  go  to  the  city  and  leave  their  loads  in  tlie  hands  of 
the  Syndic,  returning  on  the  same  day  to  Suay.  If  this  settle- 
ment is  removed  the  communication  and  commerce  with  the 
inland  Missions  will  suffer  a  serious  interruption,  as  the  nearest 
stopping  place  at  the  south,  through  which  the  city  is  supplied, 
is  that  of  Alta  Gracia  at  a  distance  of  10  leagues  from  tlie  fort- 
ress, and  there  is  no  stopping  place  or  lodgings  for  the  In- 
dians nor  Missioners  through  that  distance.  If  the  settlement 
•of  Guayana  is  removed  it  will  be  a  distance  of  20  leagues  with- 
out any  refuge  or  stopping  })lace  for  resting.  And  notwith- 
standing all  that  has  been  said,  there  is  no  difhculty  to  with- 
draw this  settlement  from  a  high  ground  but  that  of  running 
the  risk  of  the  flight  of  the  natives  to  the  mountains,  where  it 
is  difficult  to  take  them  back  from  their  native  haunts. 

I  do  not  dwell  any  longer  on  this  subject,  as  it  is  well  known 
to  every  one  who  has  been  in  America  and  acquired  a  knowl- 
edge of  what  the  Indians  are,  and  that  the  Royal  laws  for  the 
good  government  of  the  Indies  enjoin  the  greatest  tact  and 
reflection  to  be  observed  in  the  process  of  removing  the  Indians 
from  their  native  places,  as  nothing  is  apt  to  convince  them  of 
.any  good  reason  for  such  an  abandonment,  and  when  removed 
they  are  subject  to  fits  of  extreme  melancholy  followed  by 
death.  A^arious  instances  I  could  mention' of  what  I  have 
l^ersonally  seen  in  the  part  of  America  through  which  I 
have  traveled,  and  even  at  this  very  place  of  the  government 


168 

in  luy  cliar<j,-o.  Tliorefore  I  can  assure  that  if  the  Indians  of 
Suay  are  compelled  to  remove  from  their  land  and  those  of 
Aripuco,  Piacoa,  Caroni,  and  Aguacagua,  forbidding  them 
from  planting  their  grounds  on  the  banks  of  the  Orinoco,  the 
greatest  number  of  them  will  take  to  the  woods,  from  where 
they  had  been  brought  down.  These  inconveniences  were  not 
minded  when  the  report  was  sent  to  His  Majesty,  nor  the  im- 
portance to  tlie  Royal  service  of  settling  Missions  on  the  banks 
of  the  Oronico,  which  in  time  will  secure  these  Provinces  and 
attract  the  establishment  of  Spanish  settlements,  as  those  of 
San  Antonio  de  Upata  and  Maturin,  mentioned  in  Chapter  9, 
and  Nos.  101  to  112,  and  otherwise  they  will  be  impracticable. 

"  That  once  the  works  of  the  fortifications  finished,  the  com- 
mander transfer  his  residence  to  Angostura,  closing  it 
with  a  batter}"-  mounted,  on  the  part  called  San  Philipe^ 
on  the  eastern  slope  of  a  hill  in  the  rear,  where  a  strong- 
hold has  to  be  erected  as  headquarters,  and  defend  the 
rear  of  the  population  and  the  battery,  and  that  from 
thence  he  shall  have  to  attend  to  the  garrison  of  the  fort 
and  prevent  the  entrance  of  foreigners,  extending  due 
protection  to  the  Missions,  allowing  them  the  necessary 
escort." 

127.  I  consider  su})erfluous  everything  that  I  might  say,  in 
answer  to  the  above  part  of  the  Royal  Order,  as  I  have  in  the 
course  of  this  part  second  of  my  statement  placed  in  evidence 
the  great  over-floods  of  the  eastern  and  western  sides  of  the 
strip  of  land  formed  by  the  Angostura,  where  there  is  no  kind- 
ling wood,  timber  material,  pasture  grounds  nor  farming  lands, 
and  that  this  circumstance  and  the  want  of  victuals  makes  im- 
possible the  transfer  of  the  Guayana  in]ial)itants  and  their 
subsistence.  Angostura  does  not  defend  nor  can  defend  the 
entrance  of  foreigners  and  their  commerce  with  the  Provinces 
of  Cumana,  Barcelona,  Caracas,  Barinas,  and  Sante  Fe,  nor  pre- 
vent tliem  from  kee})ing  an  o[)en  trade  with  all  of  them.  The 
safety  of  these  Provinces  depends  from  the  fortifications  of  Guay- 
ana, and  if  they  are  lost  Angostura  can  not  in  any  way  be  de- 
fended, even  by  a  stronghold  like  the  one  demolished  at  Araya. 


169 

The  repairs  and  steps  taken  at  will  by  the  Governors,  for  the 
security  of  the  fortress,  stop  the  foreigners  from  continuing 
their  illicit  traffic,  their  landing  and  their  incnrsions  through 
the  Provinces  through  which  the  Orinoco  River  runs,  os  they 
did  until  the  year  1734  and  even  in  that  of  1740. 

At  present  they  only  navigate  through  the  labyrinths  of 
the  mouths  of  said  rivers,  without  daring  to  reach  as  far  as 
the  fortress,  w^hich  is  entirely  indefensive  against  the  enemies 
of  the  Royal  Crown,  intending  to  take  it  and  holding  it.  In 
such  a  case,  (which  is  very  near  at  hand).  His  Majesty  would 
lose  a  great  portion  of  America,  depending  upon  said  fortress, 
while  the  Orinoco  River  facilitates  an  entrance.  The  long 
distance  from  Guayana  of  the  Missions  of  the  Jesuits  and  Do- 
minicans in  Barinas  does  not  permit  the  aggregation  of  their 
escorts  to  the  fortress  nor  their  protection  from  the  same. 
For  the  construction  of  the  battery,  stronghold  and  other 
works  directed  by  the  above-quoted  Cedule  there  is  only  the 
amount  of  $500,  when  there  is  an  actual  need  of  from  §300,000 
to  $400,000;  and  I  have  finally  shown  how  erroneous  is  the 
report  to  His  Majesty,  tending  to  disarm  the  fortress,  the  only 
advantageous  spot  and  key  to  all  these  Provinces,  considering 
sufficiently  fortified  with  the  construction  of  counter-founda- 
tions and  other  useless  works  of  the  small  fort  of  Limones  and 
the  land  attacks  of  the  Padrastro  mountain,  and  with  said 
useless  work  and  a  simple  battery  of  Angostura  they  thought 
the  important  Orinoco  River  safe,  as  also  the  extensive 
Provinces  easily  reached  through  it. 

This  is  the  only  favorable  report  upholding  Angostura  up 
to  the  present  time,  and  contrary  to  those  of  the  Governors, 
engineers,  and  competent  persons,  and  to  the  one  that,  in  virtue 
of  a  Royal  Order  was  approved  by  His  Excellency  Don  Se- 
bastian de  Eslava,  who,  like  the  Governors  and  engineers,  held 
the  fortress  of  Guayana  as  the  only  advantageous  ground  to 
secure  the  safety  of  all  these  Provinces,  and  that  it  must  be 
fortified  as  I  have  shown  in  my  note  No.  9  of  the  memorandum 
previously  sent  to  His  Majesty,  and  in  my  representation  of 
the  27th  of  August,  1751,  while  dealing  with  the  subject  of  the 
demolition  of  the  Castle  of  Araya. 


170 

'*'  In  consideration  of  the  occupations  and  expenses  of  the  trans- 
fer of  Guayana  that  may  for  a  time  deprive  the  inhabit- 
ants fi'om  a  cliurch,  His  Majesty  has  granted  $4,000  for 
the  building  of  one,  and  to  tliis  end  an  order  has  been 
issued  to  the  Viceroy  of  Santa  Fe." 

128.  T  consider  sutiic-icnt  for  tlie  building  of  the  rhureh  the 
four  tliousaud  dollars  ($4,000)  that  Your  Majesty  has  granted 
for  that  })urpost\  It  will  Ije  ecjual  to  that  of  the  fortress,  the 
ornaments  of  which,  as  well  as  the  images  and  bells  contrib- 
uted by  means  of  alms,  can  be  taken  to  the  new  church  ;  but 
in  such  a  case  (and  that  of  a  transfer  of  the  Guayana  iidiab- 
itants)  it  will  be  necessary  to  keep  another  church  ornamented 
in  that  fortress  at  the  expense  of  the  Royal  treasury,  so  that 
the  garrison  may  attend  to  mass,  receive  the  sacraments,  and 
be  buried,  as  there  is  no  hope  that  the  old  church,  already 
dilapidated,  may  answer  for  that  purpose.  The  l)uilding  of 
the  new  church,  for  which  materials  have  already  been  col- 
lected, has  been  suspended,  and  they  may  be  applied  for  the 
construction  of  the  new  one  to  be  built  on  account  of  the  King. 

"And  in  this  respect  I  am  directed  by  His  Majesty  to  tell  Your 
Honor  that  at  once,  and  from  the  troop  of  Araya,  52  men 
be  sent  to  (kiayana  to  serve  in  that  garrison,  and  Desides, 
50  men  to  the  Island  of  Trinidad,  trying  at  tlie  same  time 
to  send  to  both  j)laces  the  artillery  considered  necessar}', 
and  Your  Honor  will  send  instructions  to  the  Governor 
of  said  island  about  the  means  of  defence  that  may  have 
been  adopted,  besides  the  help  of  Your  Honor,  in  keeping 
with  the  urgency  and  ))ossil)ility  of  the  ease." 

120.  As  the  principal  object  in  view,  when  1  came  to  take 
•charge  of  this  Government,  was  to  render  assistance  to  the  chief 
of  srpiadron,  Don  Joseph  dc  Iturriaga,  and  afford  him  the 
facilities  of  money,  provisions,  and  the  troops  he  might  want 
to  undertake  his  journey,  as  soon  as  I  took  possession  of  the 
Government,  and  became  familiar  with  the  state  of  things,  I 
sent  to  said  chief  $40,000,  the  cash  existing  then,  and  another 
sum  of  $40,000,  which  tor  the  samepur})ose  was  paid  to  me  in 
Cadiz.  The  stores  and  other  things  tliat  he  asked  me  for,  and 
in  order  to  si-nd    him  the  180  men  that  he    re(iuested,  besides 


171 

those  under  his  orders,  I  inspected  the  garrisons  of  tliis  place 
and  the  Castle  of  Araya  and  found  them  in  great  decadence, 
on  account  of  the  large  detachment  taken  from  here  by  said 
chief,  and  the  greater  portion  of  which  had  deserted  or  died  of 
starvation  in  the  fortress  of  Guayana ;  that  the  troop  that  re- 
mained herein  the  service  had  sustained  many  desertions,  and 
that  ever}^  da}^  the  desertions  continued  for  fear  of  being  made 
a  part  of  the  detachments  sent  to  the  Orinoco  River  and  on 
account  of  not  having  received  the  payment  of  the  salaries 
due  and  to  be  drawn  from  the  Caracas  Treasury,  then  three 
years  in  arrears.  In  order  to  make  this  payment  I  applied  to 
that  Governor  -with  a  notice  of  the  orders  that  I  had  and  the 
importance  to  the  Royal  service  of  sending,  at  the  disposal  of 
the  above-mentioned  chief,  the  180  men  that  he  asked  for,  the 
impossibility  of  doing  so  for  want  of  funds  to  pay  the  salaries 
due,  and  of  keeping  a  part  of  them  in  that  destination  and 
the  rest  of  the  garrison  here,  if  })roper  means  were  not  taken 
to  pay  from  that  treasury  tlie  amounts  allotted  and  already  due 
and  to  be  due  in  future.  And  not  having  succeeded,  I  could 
•not  send  the  180  men  recjuested  nor  avoid  more  desertions. 

130.  On  the  20th  of  July,  1759,  and  through  Your  Excellency, 
I  laid  before  His  Majesty  all  that  I  have  stated,  recjuesting 
that  his  Royal  kindness  issue  the  corresponding  orders  to 
the  Treasury  of  Caracas  or  that  of  ^Mexico  for  the  payment  of 
the  §41,250,  due  on  account  of  arrears  to  this  garrison  and 
their  future  payments,  in  order  to  avoid  frequent  desertions  at 
the  time ;  and  to  my  representation  His  Majesty  kindly  an- 
swered by  means  of  Your  Excellency,  under  date  of  the  13th 
of  May,  1760,  approving  my  conduct  in  the  matter,  and  direct- 
ing (among  other  things),  that  on  account  of  the  difficulty 
that  had  been  met  with  for  the  payment  at  Caracas  of  the 
allotted  funds  proper  steps  should  be  taken,  after  the  resolution 
about  the  subsistence  of  the  fortress  of  Araya,  upon  which  my 
report  was  expiected  about  the  utility  or  inutility  of  the  same. 

131.  In  compliance  with  this  Royal  Order  and  those  i)revi- 
ously  communicated  on  the  subject,  under  the  date  of  the  27th 
■of  August,  1761,  I  laid  before  the  consideration  of  His  Majesty 
the  inutility  of  that  fortification  ;  and  that  I  had   considered 


172 

as  a  good  service  to  His  Majesty  the  lieniolition  of  said  castle 
and  the  reform  of  its  garrison,  and  that  in  case  that  it  was  so 
decideii,  it  was  indis[>ensi\ble  to  adopt  a  new  reguh\tion  for  the 
garrison  of  Ciimaua.  which  ought  to  be  increaseii  by  *2o  more 
men,  and  likewise  that  of  the  fortress  of  Gnayana.  with  a  com- 
pany consisting  of  one  captain,  a  lieutenant,  a  sub-lieutenant, 
and  70  more  men,  so  as  to  be  able  to  detach  escorts  to  the  Mis- 
sions to  the  Catalan  Capuchins  and  Observant  Fathers  of  Piritu, 
besides  the  detachment  to  Trinidad  for  the  better  defence  of 
its  fortress :  but  it  was  not  found  convenient  or  easy  to  have 
formed  out  of  the  troop  taken  from  the  garrison  of  Araya  for 
the  reason  then  stated.  I  likewise  brought  to  the  notice  of 
His  Majesty  that  in  regard  to  the  Treasury  of  Caracas  the 
10,(K)0  ducats  assigned  to  the  garrison  of  Cumana  could  not 
be  collected,  nor  the  alms  of  the  Catalan  Capuchin  Missioners 
and  those  of  the  Observant  Fathers  of  Piritu  (s«V),  directions 
should  be  given  so  as  to  continue  the  remittance  of  the  oO,0(X> 
ducats  from  the  Treasury  of  Mexico  for  the  payment  of  the 
Araya  troop  and  the  garrisons  of  Cumana.  the  increase  to  be 
furnished  to  Guayaua  and  the  alms  to  be  distribute«i  among 
the  bodies  of  the  Miss^ions  in  charge  of  spreading  the  Gospel  in 
this  Province,  as  it  is  shown  extensively  in  that  communica- 
tion. 

132.  And  now  I  have  to  submit  to  His  Majesty  that  the 
Treasury  of  Caracas  has  continued  opjx"*sing  the  same  difficul- 
ties to  meet  the  payment  of  the  annual  allotment  in  favor  of 
this  garrison,  already  in  arrears  for  eight  years,  amounting  to 
$110.0(lH>.  as  it  is  shown  at  folio  149  of  these  proceedings,  that 
these  g^arrisons  are  awaiting  yet  the  payment  of  three  allot- 
ments from  Mexico  that  have  not  come  yet  on  account  of  the 
war,  one  of  them  having  been  lost  in  Havana,  The  three 
allotments  amount  to  ($12o.7o0)  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
three  thousand  seven  hundred  and  lifliy  dollars,  and  adding 
those  of  Caracas  ($233,750),  two  hundred  and  thirty-three  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  both  from  Mexico  and 
Ca  racas.  During  the  war  all  these  garrisons  have  l»een  par- 
tially helped  by  this  Treasury  with  small  monthly  advances,, 
but  not  sufficient,  as  it  has  not  been  possible  to  allow  any  more 


for  want  of  funds.  The*  non-[Kiyment  of  salaries  and  the  con- 
tinual detaciiments  to  the  Orinoco  River  have  brought  about 
more  desertions,  which,  together  with  the  losses  by  death  in 
that  quarter,  amount  to  394  men,  from  the  time  of  the  arrival 
of  that  expedition,  as  shown  in  folios  150  to  150  of  the  pro- 
ceedings. Said  garrisons  have  been  materially  reduced  to  an 
actual  existence  of  189  men,  including  the  staff  officers  and  12 
invalids,  as  shown  at  folio  157  of  said  proceedings,  where  it  is 
noticed  likewise  a  deficit  of  1S2  men  to  make  up  the  whole 
number,  and  I  might  as  well  call  it  200  men,  as  many  of  them 
in  actual  service  might  be  discharged  on  account  of  age,  sick- 
ness or  invalidity,  and  they  are  only  kept  for  want  of  substi- 
tutes. From  the  189  men  in  actual  existence,  33  are  in  Orinoco, 
under  the  chief  of  squadron  Don  Joseph  de  Iturriaga,  and  on 
duty  in  this  place,  including  detachments,  144  men,  counting 
officers  and  the  staff,  which  is  almost  precisely  the  garrison,  as 
shown  in  the  last  mentioned  folio. 

As  the  existing  troop  is  so  small,  it  is  not  possible  to  send  to 
Guayana  52  men  nor  50  to  the  Island  of  Trinidad,  as  directed 
by  the  Royal  Cedule.  In  order  to  do  so  it  should  be  neces- 
sary that  His  Majesty  would  direct  that  by  the  Royal  Treas- 
ury of  Caracas  or  of  Mexico  the  arrears  due  the  troops  be  paid 
and  the  annual  assignments  for  their  payment,  in  which  case 
I  have  to  submit  to  Your  Excellency  that  it  will  not  be  pos- 
sible to  muster  in  this  country  all  the  people  needed  for  the 
service  of  this  garrison  and  of  that  of  Araya,  existing  before 
now^,  because  the  whole  of  the  garrison  does  not  exceed  1,000 
men  of  those  who  are  called  white  persons  and  look  like  such, 
as  shown  by  No.  12,  Chapter  4,  of  part  first,  and  it  is  very  diffi- 
cult that  400  of  the  latter  class  would  like  to  fill  the  places  left 
vacant  in  the  two  garrisons.  It  might  be  possible  if  they  would 
be  restricted  to  serve  in  them,  but  impossible  if  wanted  in 
Guayana,  as  that  country  is  adverse  and  injurious  to  the 
Curaana  natives,  as  shown  repeatedly  by  the  experience  of  the 
detachments  that  at  all  times  have  been  sent  there,  and  the 
greatest  part  of  which  have  perished  or  returned  while  suffer- 
ing of  chronical  diseases.  The  fact  is  fresh  in  their  memorv, 
past  and   present,  with  the  existence  of  250  widows  now  in 


174 

('uinaiiM.  Some  of  them  are  really  so  and  t!ie  others  are  con- 
sidered so  on  aeeount  of  desertions  or  abandonments  bv  their 
husbands,  whose  wliereahouts  are  not  known,  notwithstanding 
the  Royal  [lanjoii  jiublislicd.  To  muster  single  men  into 
service  for  Guayana  is  likewise  impossible,  not  only  because 
there  are  not  so  many  as  required,  but  on  account  of  the  ditti- 
culty  of  subsistence  in  that  country,  which  is  better  secured  by 
married  men,  kept  in  the  phice  by  their  wives  and  children. 
The  increase  to  be  added  to  the  garrison  of  (Juayana  could  only 
be  secured  on  the  terms  I  reported  to  His  Majesty  in  ni}'  letter 
,,f  the  27111  of  August,  17<i7  ;  otherwise  it  has  not  been  found 
practicable,  notwithstanding  the  re}»eated  Royal  orders  kept 
in  the  archives  of  this  government  directing  that  detachments 
from  the  Castle  of  Araya  go  over  to  the  Missions  of  Orinoco. 
Whenever  in  virtue  of  those  Royal  orders  the  experiment  has- 
been  tried  the  only  result  has  been  the  loss  of  so  many  men 
and  the  upsetting  of  the  garrisons,  reducing  the  population  of 
the  city  ami  neighboring  Spanish  settlements,  where  people 
such  as  that  of  Guayana  are  wanted. 

133.  I  will  not  stop  to  justify  and  show  to  Your  Excellency 
other  injuries  and  inconveniences  making  impracticable  the 
remoA'al  of  so  many  jieoijle  and  their  substitution  if  they  die  or 
desert ;  the  dithculties  subsisting  in  regard  to  detachments  and 
the  removal  of  families  to  renuiin  steadily  at  the  fortress  of  An- 
gostura, and  the  Avaut  of  provisions  for  so  many  })eople ;  the  diffi- 
culty for  the  prompt  construction  of  dwelling-houses  and  hos- 
pitals for  the  invalids  if  the  King  does  not  pay  for  them  or  for 
the  headquarters.  Having  to  meet  all  these  requirements,  it 
is  not  an  eas}'  matter  to  remove  these  garrisons,  whether  by 
detachments  or  with  their  families,  from  this  their  native  place, 
for  the  distant,  warm  and  damp  one  of  ( Juayaua,  and  to  replace- 
those  who  die.  The  d'2  men  and  others  that  His  Majesty 
directs  to  be  sent  to  the  garrisons  of  Guayana,  the  25  of  the 
small  fort  of  Limones,  the  73  of  the  Jesuits  and  Dominican 
escorts  of  Barinas,  the  100  of  the  regular  allowance  of  the  for- 
tress, besides  the  imjjossibility  of  residing  in  it,  for  want  of 
provisions  at  present,  it  is  an  excessive  garrison  that,  alter 
being   placed  in  Angostura  as  resident,  is  sent   from  there  to- 


175 

increase  the  strong  detachment  of  tlie  fortress  and  that  of 
Trinidad,  the  Missions  of  the  Catahin  Capuchin  Fathers,  those 
of  the  Reverend  Father  Observants  of  Piritu,  of  the  Jesuits  of 
Orinoco  and  of  tlie  Dominicans  of  Barinas,  it  is  a  small 
number  of  men,  as  it  should  be  necessary  to  properly  fill  these 
detaclnnents  and  relieve  them,  fully  500  men,  or  they  mny 
have  to  remain  steadily  in  their  respective  headquarters  as  at 
present.  These  insuperable  inconveniences  and  others  which 
I  omit,  were  not  taken  in  consideration  when  the  report  was 
sent  to  His  Majesty,  nor  did  they  know  the  decadence  affecting 
the  whole  of  this  country  on  account  of  the  expedition  and  the 
misery  spread  throughout  by  so  many  poor  widows  and  fam- 
ilies, in  detriment  of  the  service  of  God,  and  followed  by  so 
many  misfortunes. 

134.  I  will  not  stop  to  acquaint  Your  Excellency  with  the 
large  expenses  and  difficulties  of  sending  50  men  to  Trinidad, 
as  I  have  already  done  so  before  in  my  representation  of  the  2d 
of  November  of  the  previous  year  of  1702,  in  answer  to  the 
Royal  Order  of  December,  1761,  directing  this  detachment,  and 
His  Majesty's  approval  of  my  conduct  in  the  matter  by  His 
Royal  order  of  the  17th  of  October  ot  this  year,  just  received 
through  Your  Excellency. 

135.  On  the  same  occasion  on  the  1st  of  November,  1762,  I 
rendered  an  account  to  His  Majesty  of  the  various  reasons  that 
influenced  my  remittance  to  the  Governor  of  Caracas  of  the 
fiiteen  bronze  cannons  found  in  the  Castle  of  Araya  and  the 
description  of  the  quality  and  number  of  the  rest  of  the 
artillery  of  the  same  fortification  remaining  in  this  place,  and  by 
the  Royal  Order  of  the  27th  of  October  ultimo  I  have  received 
the  approval  of  His  M<ijesty.  This  time,  under  a  separate 
representation,  I  send  with  these  proceedings  an  account  to 
Your  Excellency  of  what,  in  virtue  of  the  present  Royal  Order, 
I  have  sent  to  the  Governor  of  Trinidad,  to  wit :  thirteen  iron 
cannons,  and  to  the  Governor  of  Caracas  I  have  decided  to  send 
the  rest  of  the  utensils  and  ammunitions  shown  by  the  same 
proceedings,  corresponding  to  said  separate  representation,  leav- 
ing in  this  place  no  more  artillery  than  the  two  bronze  cul- 
verins  which,  under  date  of  tlie  27th  of  August,  1761, 1  iniormed 


176 

His  Majesty  that  I  considered  to  Ije  appropriate  for  tlie  service 
of  the  fortress  of  Guayaiia ;  where,  however,  I  liave  not  sent 
them  yet,  on  account  of  not  having  obtained  your  Royal 
decision,  and  because  without  tiie  construction  of  the  necessary 
fortification  in  that  city,  it  would  be  a  })ity  to  risk  so  fine  and 
useful  pieces.     Thus  I  answer  the  point  in  question. 

"  That  the  fortress  of  Araya  be  dismounted  (as  directed)  and  its 
cistern  made  useless." 

13G.  The  fortress  of  Araya  has  been  wholly  demolished,  so 
that  no  gun  could  be  mounted;  and  I  did  so  in  virtue  of  the 
Royal  Order  of  the  Gth  of  January,  17G2,  and  I  gave  an  ac- 
count to  His  Majesty  of  what  I  have  done  under  date  of  the 
1st  of  November  of  the  year  17<)2,  having  been  favored  with 
the  kind  approbation  of  His  Majesty  by  the  Royal  Order  of 
the  2Gth  of  September  of  the  present  year,  which  I  have  just 
received. 

"  That  in  tliis  city  the  25  more  men  requested  Ijy  Your  Honor 
will  be  increased,  as  suggested  in  your  letter  of  the  27th  of 
August  of  last  year,  and  that  filling  up  the  vacancies  for 
the  regular  complement  of  said  allotments  with  the  sol- 
diers of  Araya  the  remnant  be  detached  for  the  service 
and  defence  of  Guayana." 

137.  I  submit  to  Your  Excellency  that  at  present  there  is  no 
need  of  any  increase  of  25  men  in  this  city,  as  the  fault  is  sup- 
plied by  the  diminished  garrison  of  Araya,  the  increase  of 
which  will  l)e  done  when  His  Majesty  be  pleased  to  direct  the 
c(>nq)letion  of  the  former  garrison  of  Araya  and  of  tiiis  place, 
or  if  in  the  latter,  the  increase  of  the  25  men  has  to  replace 
its  vacancies  with  those  from  Araya,  or  if  this  one  has  to  dis- 
charge the  few  persons  remaining  and  settle  tlie  funds  for  the 
annual  payment  of  the  25  men  of  the  increase,  which  aside  from 
tlieir  not  being  needed  at  present  in  virtue  of  the  law,  it  is  not 
in  my  power  to  change  the  place  for  the  collection  of  the  funds 
unless  His  Majesty  (if  it  were  his  pleasure)  should  wish  me  to 
settle  this  point. 


177 

"  And  I  make  you  acquainted  with  all  the  above  circum- 
stances by  order  of  His  Majesty  and  for  the  understanding 
and  the  corresponding  steps  to  be  taken  to  comply  with  the 
wliole  of  this  Royal  resolution. — May  the  Lord  keep  Your 
Honor's  h'fe  for  many  years. — Aranjuez  the  27th  of  May, 
1762.— The  Bailiff,  Fr.  Don  Julian  de  Arriaga.— Tripli- 
cate.— To  Senor  Don  Joseph  Diguja." 

138.  As  soon  as  I  received  the  present  Royal  Order,  and  in 
order  to  be  well  prej^ared  to  issue  the  corresponding  measures 
for  its  prompt  and  exact  compliance,  I  tried  to  be  informed 
in  every  point  mentioned  by  His  Majesty's  directions ;  and 
being  fully  aware  of  the  insurmountable  difficulties,  large  and 
useless  expenses,  and  irreparable  injuries  that  its  enforcement 
might  bring  about,  the  many  years  necessary,  the  impending 
danger  of  the  loss  of  these  vast  dominions,  and  the  want  of  accu- 
racy of  the  reports  submitted  to  His  Majesty,  I  consider  it  to  be 
my  duty  to  suspend  its  effect,  laying  the  case  before  His  Majesty 
w^ith  all  the  proceedings  and  documents  justifying  my  views 
sent  herewith  to  Your  Excellency,  so  as  to  submit  the  same  to 
the  Royal  consideration,  and  decide  whatever  it  may  meet  his 
pleasure. 


Part  Third. 

Being  well  aware  of  all  the  antecedents  and  of  the  present 
condition  of  the  dependence  in  question,  and  following  the 
accurate  judgment  of  the  founders  of  the  city  of  Santo  Thome 
of  Guayana,  of  the  engineer  Don  Pablo  Diaz  Fajardo,  of  the 
Governor  of  Trinidad,  Don  Augustin  de  Arredondo,  of  the 
Governor  of  Cumana,  Don  Carlos  de  Sucre,  of  the  Marquis  of 
San  Phihpe,  of  Father  Joseph  Gumilla,  of  Brigadier  Don  Gre- 
gorio  de  Espinosa,  of  engineer  Don  Antonio  Jordan,  of  Brig- 
adier Don  Diego  Tavares,  and  of  engineers  Don  Gaspar  de 
Lara  and  Don  Juan  Bautista  MacEvan,  and  the  approbation 
of  His  Excellency,  Don  Sabastian  de  Eslava,  with  the  pro- 
foundest  respect,  I  submit  to  His  Majesty  in  my  sense  of  duty — 

That  the  fortification  of  the  mountain  of  Padrastro,  if  it  meet 
His  Royal  pleasure,  be  carried  out  at  the  Castle  of  La  Con- 
cepcion. 

Vol.  1,  Ven.— 12 


178 

That  either,  with  the  Castle  of  La  Concepcion,  or  any  other 
one  meeting  His  Majesty's  pleasure,  be  fortified  without  loss  of 
time,  as  otherwise  it  is  most  exposed  to  loss  in  the  first  war. 

Tliiit  tlie  city  be  preserved,  and  that  by  all  means  possible 
the  population  bo  increased  to  twice  its  i)rescnt  number  of 
inhabitants. 

That  the  garrison  l)c  increased  by  73  men,  as  proposed  by 
the  Governors  Don  CJregorio  de  Espinosa  and  Don  Matheo 
Gaul,  as  I  have  requested  His  Majesty  in  my  representation  of 
the  27tli  of  August,  1761. 

That  the  fort  of  Limones  be  abandoned  and  a  launch  be 
kept  at  the  fortress,  as  represented  to  His  Majesty  by  the 
Marquis  of  San  Philipe,  and  if  Angostura  is  to  be  fortified  to 
be  so  with  only  the  battery  which  was  proposed  by  the  Gover- 
nor Don  Juan  de  laTornera  and  is  shown  by  figure  0  of  the 
map. 

That  the  Missions  of  the  Catalan  Capuchin  Fathers  and  of 
the  Observant  Fathers  of  Piritu  be  attended  to  on  the  terms 
that  I  have  submitted  to  His  Majesty.  To  these  six  subjects  I 
will  reduce  the  corresponding  chapters  of  this  part  third. 


Chapter  I. 

That  the  fortification  of  the  Padrastro  Mountain,  if  it  meet  His 
Royal  pleasure,  be  carried  out  at  the  Castle  of  La  Concepcion, 
as  shown  in  figures  7  and  S  of  the  niap. 

1.  In  the  course  of  this  communication  I  have  shown  that 
from  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  the  Orinoco  nobody  has  con- 
sidered Angostura  as  an  appropriate  spot  to  stop  the  naviga- 
tion by  foreigners  and  their  entrance  in  these  Provinces  or 
their  seizure  by  tluMii.  That  the  Governor  Don  .Juan  de  la 
Tornera  and  Fr.  Francisco  del  Castillo,  the  only  j^ersons  in 
favor  of  Angostura,  did  not  deal  with  the  subject  of  fortifying 
the  Orinoco  River,  but  only  with  the  question  of  a  fort  that, 
like  the  former  one  of  Clarines,  might  protect  the  new  reduc- 
tion of  Indians  of  the,  until  then,  unknown  Province  of  Bar- 


179 

celoiia,  bat  nothing  was  said  in  regard  to  the  utility  or  inutility 
of  the  fortress  of  Guayana.  But,  although  the  Fathers  of  the 
Company,  Juan  Capitel  and  Juan  Remez,  were  of  the  opinion 
that  the  Island  of  Fajardo  ought  to  be  fortified,  they  in  no  way 
underrated  the  fortress  of  Guayana.  On  the  contrary,  they 
were  under  the  impression  that  by  fortifying  said  island  the 
force  of  the  fortress  should  be  increased  and  the  Orinoco  well 
secured.  That  the  first  founders  of  Guayana,  the  engineer, 
Don  Pablo  Diaz  Fajardo,  and  others  followed,  besides  the  ap- 
probation of  His  Excellency  Don  Sebastian  de  Eslava,  all, of 
whom  have  unanimously  considered  as  unsuitable  and  totally 
unlit  the  site  of  Angostura  for  the  situation  and  construction 
of  fortification  intended  for  the  security  of  the  Orinoco,  and 
that  only  the  fortress  of  Guayana  has  been  considered  the 
proper  spot  to  stop  the  navigation  and  secure  all  these 
Provinces ;  and  in  this  view  (besides  my  having  so  represented 
the  case  to  His  Majesty)  they  have  taken  i)articular  steps,  by 
means  of  which  the  entrance  of  foreigners  has  been  stopped, 
as  well  as  their  hostilities  and  their  establishment  an  the  same 
Orinoco.  That  the  same  engineers  and  Governors  have  con- 
sidered that  the  Padrastro  mountain  mnst  be  fortified,  as  the 
most  important  spot  of  the  place,  and  the  one  that  secures  and 
quadruplicates  the  fortress  of  the  Castle  of  San  Francisco,  and 
without  the  knowledge  that  I  have  at  present  of  all  the  ante- 
cedents of  this  matter,  and  by  only  my  observation,  at  the  time 
of  my  visit  to  said  monntain  and  its  circumstances,  shown  in 
my  note  9  of  my  memorandum,  by  way  of  notice,  the 
great  necessity  of  securing  this  most  important  place,  and  now 
I  say  : 

2.  That  (if  it  is  the  pleasure  of  His  Majesty)  I  am  for  the 
■construction  at  the  Padrastro  mountain  of  the  Castle  of  La  Con- 
ce|)cion  shown  by  figure  7  of  the  accompanying  map  showing 
it  in  project.  Said  fortification  will  measure  from  65  to  67 
3'ards  in  length,  50  to  72  yards  in  Ijreadth,  and  that  its  surfiice 
is  shown  in  figure  8  and  quoted  in  the  explanation;  that  it 
will  have  a  sufiicient  parade  ground  for  the  management  of 
the  artillery  numbered  in  the  interior  of  figure  7.  It  will  as- 
sure and  increase  the  strenotJi  of  the  fort  of  the  Castle  of  San 


180 

Francisco,  wliit'li  will  never  be  surrendered  or  (icca[)ie(I  by  the 
enemy  if  the  Castle  of  Concepeion,  dominating  the  same  at  an 
elevation  of  36  yards  over  the  level  of  the  parade  ground,  is  not 
taken.  It  will  close  the  door  of  the  ( )rinoco,  and,  b}''  its  heavy 
artillery,  will  reach  and  beat  the  opposite  bank.  It  will  stop  the 
landing  on  tlie  Provinces  of  the  Cumana  and  Barcelona  sides, 
as  the  first  i)ossible  landing  is  above  tlie  fortress  at  the  creek 
of  Patapatainia  and  the  })ort  of  Camino  Real  (Main  Iloa<l)  to 
tlie  ]dains  of  Barcelona,  as  shown  in  the  map,  as  no  landing  is 
possible  below  that  })oint  on  account  of  the  swamps  and  close 
thickets  all  around,  l)eiiig  six  months  of  the  year  inundated 
and  under  water  all  the  way  through,  up  to  the  neighborhood 
of  the  cattle  estate  and  sugar  mill  of  Franco.  It  can  not  be 
taktn  b}'  surprise,  as  there  is  no  other  ascent  than  by  the 
winding  one  and  very  steep,  shown  by  figure  8,  wliich  may  be 
guarded  by  two  or  three  doors. 

3.  If  the  enemies  should  intend  to  take  the  Castle  of  Con- 
cepci(»n  and  for  that  pur})Ose  should  beat  the  bulwark  of  San 
Joseph  (not  so  easy  a  task,  on  account  of  the  mudch^  ground 
to  the  east  of  the  Castle  of  San  Francisco  and  the  l^su})amo 
River  banks),  even  if  they  should  succeed  in  opening  a  breach 
they  could  not  give  the  assault,  as  the  ruins  would  crumble 
down  from  the  upper  part  of  the  mountain  defended  by  the 
Castle  of  San  Francisco,  and  on  account  of  the  51  yards  eleva- 
tion of  the  mountain  in  that  direction.  If  they  should  beat 
the  bulwark  of  Santa  Ana  they  could  not  give  an  assault  on 
account  of  the  same  elevation  and  the  Baratillo  lagoon  at  its 
foot.  To  l)eat  and  o}»en  a  l)reach  to  the  bulwark  of  Santa 
Isabel  is  impossible,  as  the  Orinoco  River  is  not  accessible  to 
men-of-war  of  the  line,  and  only  to  Irigates  of  30  to  35  guns, 
and  Irail  vessels,  unfit  to  stand  the  horizontal  fire  of  the  Castle 
of  San  Francisco  and  the  nearly  perpendicular  one  from  that 
of  Concepeion,  that  can  not  bo  beaten  under  sails,  and  only  by 
heaving  down,  and  for  that  manceuvre  they  must  cast  anchors 
in  65  fathoms,  or  even  80  in  full  flood,  against  a  strong  cur- 
rent and  wind,  when  in  these  circumstances  they  could  hardly 
direct  a  sure  and  lively  fire,  while  receiving  the  leisurely  ad- 
pressed  horizontal  lire  of  the  Castle  of  San  Francisco  and  the 


181 

perpendicular  one  from  the  heavy  artillery  of  T'oucepcion,  and 
even  if  they  could  open  a  breach,  it  comes  then  the  difhculty 
of  landing  and  undertaking  the  difficult  ascent  of  the  moun- 
tain, in  a  great  part  defended  by  the  Castle  of  San  Francisco, 
and  many  of  the  steep  windings  are  defended  l)y  the  cannons 
of  La  Concepcion. 

4.  The  weakest  point  of  this  castle,  and  through  which  it 
might  be  assaulted,  is  by  the  bulwarks  of  San  Joaquin,  San 
Juan,  and  their  corresponding  curtain,  but  in  order  to  beat 
this  fort,  a  manoeuvre  not  very  easy  is  necessary,  as  it  should 
require  a  landing  between  the  Arevia  and  Usupamo  rivers, 
overcoming  their  muddy  grounds,  trees,  sands  and  inequali- 
ties of  the  ground  for  carrying  artillery  behind  the  population, 
and  thence  in  front  of  said  bulwarks,  in  short  slopes,  found  on 
the  opposite  of  the  channel  F,  to  build  batteries,  and  after 
opening  the  breach  to  clear  the  trees  and  muddy  grounds  of 
cliannel  F,  well  understood  that  it  can  not  be  done,  wdiile  the 
Orinoco  River  is  flooded,  as  through  said  channel  the  waters 
enter  and  fill  the  lagoons  of  Baratillo  and  Zeiba,  until  they 
are  level  with  the  Orinoco  River,  as  it  has  been  shown  exten- 
sively in  Chapter  9  of  part  first,  and  after  overcoming  the 
difficulty  of  said  channel  F,  the  enemies  will  find  themselves 
before  the  steep  and  unequal  ascent  shown  by  figure  8,  and 
with  the  fosse  that  in  that  rock  may  be  opened  very  wide  and 
deep  at  pleasure. 

5.  What  has  been  shown  is  not  an  affair  of  eight  days,  and 
if  the  castle  resists  fifteen  or  twenty  days,  keeping  the  enemy 
exposed  to  the  dew  for  as  many  nights,  and  the  continued 
rain,  unless  recourse  be  had  to  the  lodgings  of  the  population, 
all  under  the  fires  of  the  Castle  of  La  Concepcion,  it  is  not 
necessary  to  use  any  more  powder  to  make  them  recede ;  but  not- 
withstanding, in  consideration  of  what  may  happen,  its  greatest 
force  is  in  the  bulwarks  of  San  Juan  and  San  Joaquin  and  their 
curtain.  And  if  it  meet  the  pleasure  of  His  INLajesty,  a  ravelin 
may  be  built  between  the  fosse  and  the  channel  F,  and  wdien 
placed  under  the  fire  of  said  bulwarks  and  curtain,  it  will 
have  a  like  eftect  as  that  of  the  Castle  of  San  Francisco  in  de- 
fense of  La  Concepcion,  and  will   beat  on  the  Orinoco  and 


182 

doiiiiiiatinpj  tliat  of  La  Concepcion  with  siicli  an  elevation  and 
short  distance  to  those  of  San  Francisco,  and  the  ravelin  will 
prevent  their  being  taken  by  land,  unless  under  a  formal  siege 
with  very'  superior  forces  and  bombarding  the  Concepcion 
without  the  risk  of  any  of  the  other  three  fortifications  being 
undermined,  not  only  on  account  of  the  situation,  but  likewise 
on  account  of  the  solid  rock  upon  which  they  stand,  just  as 
hard  as  flint,  and  if  that  of  San  Francisco  is  furnished  with 
the  curtain  denoted  b}'  the  diagonals  P  of  figure  3,  and  its 
particular  application  is  done,  the  three  fortifications  will  be 
safe  against  surprises,  which  must  be  a  subject  of  the  closest 
precautions.     See  Chapter  9  of  part  first. 

G.  These  two  or  three  fortifications  may  be  defended  with  a 
few  men  and  render  assistance  to  each  other  and  keep  close 
within  them  their  garrisons  that  never  will  be  of  well-trained 
veteran  troops,  and  therefore  must  not  be  risked  on  any  oper- 
ation outside  of  the  fortifications,  but  kept  close  within  them^ 
and  the  militia  and  garrison  secured  only  by  the  artillery  will 
be  respected  and  allow  time  for  re-enforcements  without  any 
possibility  of  being  8to})ped  by  the  enemy,  while  they  are  not 
in  control  of  the  Orinoco,  an  event  impossible  for  them  with- 
out taking  the  Castle  of  Concepcion. 

7.  This  is  my  judgment,  following  the  engineers  and  Gov- 
ernors already  mentioned,  with  the  only  difference  that  those 
persons  made  their  projects  according  to  their  respective  time, 
and  I  base  my  opinion  with  a  better  knowledge  of  the  Orinoco 
and  the  Provinces,  the  entrance  of  which  it  facilitates.  The 
foreigners  come  frequently  to  the  Orinoco  and  draw  near  it 
with  greater  care  than  ever,  and  therefore  it  is  indispensable 
to  take  more  precautions  with  the  fortress  of  Guayana  and 
fortify  the  Padrastro  mountain  as  well  as  possible,  as  the  only 
key  of  the  Orinoco  Piver  and  the  Provinces  of  Cumana,  Bar- 
celona, Caracas,  Barinas,  Santa  Fe,  Popayan,  and  Quito,  as  I 
have  shown  in  Chapter  10  of  part  first. 


183 


Chapter  II. 

That  His  Majesty  kindly  order  the  fortification  of  the  Padrastro 
mountain,  either  by  the  constructi.on  of  the  Castle  of  Concep- 
cion  or  any  other  at  His  pleasure,  or  else  it  may  he  lost  in  the 
next  ivar. 

1.  In  my  parts  first  and  second  I  have  shown  that  as  soon  as 
the  first  Spaniards  were  settled  in  the  Orinoco,  the  foreigners 
commenced  to  stop  their  progress  and  took  pains  to  dislodge 
them  and  establish  themselves,  and  for  that  purpose  the  Eng- 
lish made  armaments,  the  Hollanders  set  fire  to  the  old 
Guayana,  and  the  French  set  fire  and  sacked  the  new"  one 
established  on  the  site  of  the  present  fortress.  That  during  the 
last  century  the  French,  English  and  Hollanders,  supporters  of 
the  Carib  Indians,  navigated  freely  the  Orinoco  and  insulted 
the  new  Missions  on  the  Meta  and  Casanare  rivers,  in  charge  of 
the  Jesuits  of  the  Kingdom  of  Santa  Fe,  and  in  one  of  their 
assaults  killed  four  ]\Iissioners  and  the  captain  of  their  escort. 
Those  of  the  Andalusian  Capuchins  were  established  in  the 
Province  of  Caracas.  Those  of  the  Province  of  Barcelona,  in 
charge  of  the  Observant  Fathers.  Those  of  Cumana  in  care 
of  the  Aragon  Capuchins.  And  in  the  Province  of  Guayana 
they  did  not  permit  any  of  those  established  by  the  Cata- 
lan Capuchins,  and  the  Hollanders  protected  especially  the 
barbarous  Caribs,  and  enslaved  as  many  Indians  of  the  other 
tribes  as  they  could  meet,  and  w^ere  then  taken  to  their  new 
establishments  at  Esequivo,  Berbice,  Surinam  and  Corentin, 
w'here  they  were  sold  as  negroes.  That  in  the  year  1719  the 
Caribs  and  French  set  fire  to  the  town  of  San  Felix  of  the 
Penitence,  and  on  the  banks  of  the'Guarapiche  they  had  an 
encounter  with  the  Governor,  Don  Jose  Carreno.  That  soon 
after  they  assaulted  the  village  of  San  Carlos,  situated  on  the 
banks  of  the  same  Guarapiche,  which  resulted  in  its  depopula- 
tion. That  in  the  year  1727  the  English  and  the  Caribs  had 
another  encounter  wdth  the  Governor,  Don  Juan  de  la  Tornera, 
at  the  margins  of  the  Huere  River,  close  to  Barcelona,  where 
said  English  had  established  11  houses  in  the  shape  of  stores, 


184 

and  in  them  quantities  of  arms  were  taken,  and  in  the  year 
1735  tlie  sameCarihs  and  French  set  fire  to  tlie  new  Mission  of 
Xeuestra  Senora  de  las  Remcdios,  liung  the  Missioner,  killed 
37  Indians  in  arms,  and  carried  away  with  them  the  women 
and  children  ;  that  at  the  same  time  the  Hollanders  and  Caribs 
assaulted  various  settlements  in  charge  of  the  Jesuits  in  the 
Province  of  Santa  Fe. 

That  the  fortress  of  Guayana,  on  account  of  its  weak,  ruined 
fortification  and  small  artillery,  in  want  of  men  to  handle  it, 
could  not  resist  the  free  ingress  and  egress  through  said  place, 
with  the  result  that  all  these  Provinces  were  in  a  continual 
alarm,  and  nobody  dared  to  enter  into  those  extensive  plains, 
nor  keep  away  from  their  settlement  on  the  high  lands. 

That  in  the  year  1734  Don  Carlos  de  Sucre  went  to  the  fort- 
ress, repaired  the  Castle  of  San  Francisco  as  well  as  the  lim- 
ited funds  on  hand  permitted,  and  increased  the  garrison  and 
jjopulation  of  that  place,  opening  the  road  to  the  })lains  of 
Barcelona  and  Caracas  from  said  fortress,  persecuted  the 
Caribs  and  foreigners  who  traded  and  entered  in  the  Orinoco, 
and  took  other  most  timely  measures  by  which,  to  a  great  ex- 
tent, the  tranquility  of  these  Provinces  was  secured.  This 
condition  of  things  lasted  only  a  very  short  time,  as  the  English 
noticing  the  progress  of  the  fortress,  shortly  after  the  declara- 
tion of  the  previous  war,  in  the  year  of  17-10,  invaded  that  fort- 
ress, took  the  Padrastro  mountain,  from  where,  by  the  fire  of 
their  muskets,  they  dislodged  the  garrison  of  the  Castle  of  San 
Francisco,  which  tliey  took,  and  destroyed  everything  they 
found  there,  set  fire  to  the  city  and  neighboring  settlements  of 
the  Missions,  and  then  set  sails  and  left,  leaving  the  Orinoco 
as  unprotected  as  before  the  visit  of  Sucre  to  the  fortress. 

That  the  Governor,  Doii  Gregorio  de  Espinosa,  and  the  Engi- 
neer, Don  Antonio  Jordan,  came  back  and  rebuilt  the  city  and 
partially  repaired  the  ruined  Castle  of  San  Francisco,  but  for 
want  of  funds  and  {)()wers  they  could  not  advance  very  mate- 
rially their  improvements  during  their  government.  That  in  the 
year  1747  the  Brigadier  Don  Diego  Tavares  went  to  the  fortress 
and  took  most  important  steps  for  the  restoration  of  the  Castle 
of  San  Francisco,  built  the  small  fort  of  Padrastro,  congregated 


185 

a  greater  number  of  residents  and  completed  the  garrison  with 
100  men,  the  total  of  his  allotment.  These  timely  measures 
were  continued  by  Don  Matheo  Gual,  the  Governor  pro  tempore, 
under  Don  Nicholas  de  Castro  and  myself  up  to  the  present 
time. 

During  that  time  the  Orinoco  lias  been  successfully  closed 
and  the  illicit  trade  of  foreigners  stopped,  and  the  Caribs,  their 
allies,  do  not  come  to  the  fortress  or  up  the  river  nor  land  and 
offer  any  hostilities  to  these  Provinces  ;  but  it  has  not  been  pos- 
sible to  prevent  the  navigation  and  traffic  of  the  numberless 
mouths  and  branches,  in  which  the  Orinoco  River  is  divided 
below  the  castle,  for  want  of  a  suitable  force.  Although  the 
fortress  of  Guayana  is  sufficiently  strong  to  stop  the  naviga- 
tion and  illicit  trade  of  the  Caribs  and  foreigners,  defending 
the  same  against  them  or  others,  and  preventing  their  landing 
on  the  Provinces  and  the  navigation  above  the  fortress,  it  is 
entirely  defenceless  as  against  the  enemies  of  the  Royal  Crown, 
who  may  attack  and  destroy  it,  as  they  have  done  on  other 
occasions,  and  they  may  hold  it,  which  is  still  wor.se. 

2.  And  now  I  say  that  I  perceive  lately  a  greater  knowledge 
of  the  Orinoco  and  of  the  Provinces,  through  which  an  en- 
trance is  facilitated,  and  the  individual  reports  given  on  ever\' 
subject. 

Last  year,  even  before  the  Provinces  were  acc|uainted  with 
the  declaration  of  the  war,  an  English  brig  entered  the  Ori- 
noco through  the  large  mouth,  went  up  the  river  taking 
sounds  of  its  channel,  and  returned  doing  the  same  thing, 
according  to  the  deposition  of  three  neutral  prisoners  of  this 
Province  whom  they  had  on  board.  As  soon  as  the  English 
were  disengaged  from  their  attentions  at  Havana  the}'  sent  a 
corsair  to  await  at  the  port  of  Temeraria  (Damerara),  belong- 
ing to  the  Dvitcli  of  Esequivo,  to  await  greater  forces  and  with 
them  to  fall  on  Guayana,  which  was  not  done  on  account  of 
the  receipt  of  news  of  the  peace,  as  shown  at  folio  196  of  the 
proceedings,  and  other  extra-judicial  and  positive  news  that  I 
possess. 

I  see,  likewise,  that  in  order  to  conclude  the  peace  the  Eng- 
lish have  restored  the  fortress  of  Havana  and  Martinique,  and 


186 

placed  great  stress  so  as  to  keep  Granada,  Saint  Vincent  and 
Tabago,  the  nearest  islands  to  the  month  of  Orinoco,  and 
otherwise  unimportant. 

As  soon  as  peace  was  adjusted  they  detached  one  frigate, 
two  sloops  and  one  schooner  to  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco, 
where  they  continued  for  some  time  taking  soundings  at  the 
several  mouths,  Gulf  Triste,  the  neighborhood  of  Trinidad  and 
the  coast  of  Paria.  His  Majesty  has  been  notified  of  the  great 
importance  to  the  Royal  service  of  the  fortification  of  Angos- 
tura, taking  there  the  greatest  part  of  the  garrison  of  the  fort- 
ress, which  is  equivalent  to  fortify  Cordova,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent the  enemies  from  entering  through  Guadalquivir  and 
San  Lucar  of  Barrameda  into  Andalusia,  and  their  commerce 
in  said  Provinces  and  the  Kingdom. 

3.  The  foregoing  antecedents  and  the  present  appearances 
do  not  seem  to  show  that  the  English  have  forgotten  the  Ori- 
noco, and  that  they  will  sooner  or  later  try  to  possess  it,  as- 
they  are  not  unaware  of  its  importance  and  of  how  much  inter- 
est it  may  be  to  them.  In  the  first  place,  the  great  commerce 
facilitated  through  it  with  the  Provinces  of  Cumana,  Barce- 
lona, Caracas,  Barinas,  Santa  Fe,  Popoyan.  and  Quito,  where 
they  can  be  introduced  with  the  facility  explained  in  Chapter 
10  of  the  part  first.  In  the  second  place,  on  account  of  the 
certainty  already  attained  of  the  communication  of  the  Orinoco 
with  Rio  Negro  and  Maranon,  securing  to  the  English  a  closer 
correspondence  with  the  Portuguese  Provinces.  In  the  third 
place,  that  after  securing  the  fortress  of  Guayana,the  only  key 
to  the  entrance  of  the  Orinoco,  they  will  become  masters  of 
that  desert  part  of  the  mainland  of  Brazil,  and  the  Orinoca 
may  be  their  frontier  along  with  ])orts  of  the  Provinces  of 
Cumana,  C'aracas,  Barinas,  and  Santa  Fe,  so  that  the  dominions 
of  the  most  faithful  King  and  those  of  the  English  in  the 
Windward  Islands  and  the  Provinces  of  Guayana,  will  all  be- 
come joiiu'(l  in  one  ;  they  will  avail  themselves  of  the  com- 
munication of  the  Orinoco,  avoiding  a  great  detour,  and  will 
carry  through  tlie  Maranon  all  they  may  want  from  the  in- 
terior of  said  dominion  and  those  of  His  Majesty,  and  will 
enjoy  the  same  facilities  in  their  Provinces, 


187 

4.  But  even  were  it  not  of  such  a  great  importance  for 
the  supplies  of  their  colonies,  the  English  stand  in  need  of  a 
footing  on  the  mainland,  and  that  is  in  Guayana,  as  I  shall 
explain. 

5.  In  all  their  colonies  to  the  windward  there  are  no  grounds 
fit  for  breeding  cows  or  horses,  as  the  land  is  not  fertile,  and 
fit  only  for  sugar  cane  plantations.  They  have  only  salt  meats 
brought  from  the  north,  and  the  fresh  that  they  can  get  in  a 
clandestine  way,  taken  from  this  Province  and  that  of  C'aracas 
in  the  shape  of  livestock,  as  in  ordinary  tim.es  a  head  of  cattle 
is  worth  in  the  colonies  from  $40  to  $45,  and  a  mule  from  $80 
to  $100  for  the  use  of  the  sugar  mills  where  they  have  no  water 
power  or  facilities  for  windmills.  In  the  time  of  war,  when 
the}"  miss  the  facilities  of  trade,  and  pending  other  contingen- 
cies preventing  the  transportation  of  salt  meat,  a  head  of  cattle 
is  worth  from  $80  to  $100  and  a  mule  $150,  the  colonies  being 
exposed  to  extreme  wants  not  easily  supplied  by  fresh  fish, 
likewise  scarce  in  said  colonies  and  most  abundant  on  the 
coasts  of  the  mainland,  especially  turtles,  for  which  they  come 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco  River,  and  in  ordinary  times 
they  pay  from  $18  to  $20  each.  Fishing  in  the  Orinoco  River 
can  not  be  stopped,  either  to  the  English,  Hollanders,  or 
French,  as  there  are  no  embarkations  fit  to  prevent  it,  unless 
His  Majesty  will  take  further  steps  on  the  subject,  as  said  for- 
eigners violate  the  treaties  of  peace. 

If  the  English  have  to  be  established  on  the  main  land,  no 
spot  is  more  desirable  to  them  than  Gua3"ana,  which,  besides 
the  advantages  of  its  commerce,  it  may  facilitate  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  Orinoco,  the  communication  of  the  Portuguese,  and 
their  becoming  masters  of  the  extensive  Province  of  Guayana,. 
the  fisheries  of  turtles  both  on  the  Orinoco  River  and  its 
mouth,  from  where  they  will  exclude  all  the  other  nations, 
deriving  great  profits.  They  shall  have  the  shipment  of  the 
cattle  from  the  banks  of  the  Orinoco,  where  they  are  reared 
and  in  which  the  Province  of  Guayana  will  soon  abound,  on 
account  of  possessing  large  pasture  grounds  fit  tor  live  stock. 
In  that  case  they  will  not  want  any  from  the  Spaniards.  By 
shipping  at  the  Orinoco  and  coming  out  through  its  moutii,. 


188 

the  cniTving  vessels  will  ^ain  tlif  wiiidwanl  of  the  islands  and 
colonies,  which  they  may  reach  in  a  very  few  days  with  fair 
wind,  without  any  inconvenience  for  the  cattle.  These  ad- 
vantages are  not  possessed  by  the  English  situated  on  the  north- 
ern coast ;  besides  the  difficulties  of  subsistence,  and  others, 
they  could  not  enjoy  the  advantages  found  in  the  Orinoco,  nor 
secure  enough  cattle,  which  is  reared  only  on  the  plains  of  Bar- 
celona and  Caracas,  at  the  rear  of  the  elevated  mountains  run- 
ning along  in  the  proximity  to  the  coast,  as  shown  by  the 
general  maj),  the  plains  of  which  Ibllow  up  to  the  Orinoco  in 
front  of  the  ibrtress,  as  it  is  likewise  shown  by  the  map.  In 
order  to  ship  said  cattle  from  the  northern  coast,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  bring  them  across  the  mountain,  where  the  want 
of  pasture  grounds  and  the  rough  land,  to  which  they  are  not 
accustomed,  injures  the  cattle  and  renders  them  useless  before 
being  shipped,  and  afterwards  the}"^  have  to  tack  about  for 
fifteen  or  twenty  days  before  reaching  the  colonies,  and  after 
that  long  and  protracted  voyage  the  animals  are  all  worn  out. 
That  is  not  the  case  witii  the  Orinoco  shipments,  wdiere  the 
cattle  is  embarked  in  the  best  condition,  and  have  only  from 
four  to  six  days'  navigation. 

6.  The  foregoing  reasons  i)ersuade  of  the  great  care  that  must 
be  taken  with  the  fortress  of  Guayana,  as  the  only  sjiot  fit  to 
secure  the  Orinoco  and  tliat  can  be  fortified  with  safety,  with- 
out trusting  anything  to  the  Angostura;  which,  besides  the 
great  expense  and  difficulty  of  its  fortifications,  no  matter  how 
strong  they  are,  they  can  not  defend  the  fortress  below,  which 
is  the  door  for  the  entrance  of  the  supplies  of  war,  materials 
and  provisions,  especially  those  that  are  not  to  go  farther  in- 
land than  the  city  of  Barcelona  and  through  its  mountains 
and  })lains  to  the  ()rin(K'(),  at  a  distance  of  about  80  leagues, 
and  thence  crossing  over  to  the  other  side  of  Angostura,  where 
the  new  city  and  battery  must  be  located.  Neither  this  bat- 
tery nor  any  stronger  foi'tilicatioii  could  prevent  the  landing 
of  foreigners  on  the  length  of  tlie  20  leagues  distance  from  the 
fortress  (>f  Guayana,  nor  the  entrance  and  commerce  by  the 
way  of  Camino  Real,  shown  by  the  maj),  in  the  direction  of  the 
Provinces  of  Cumana,   Barcelona,  Caracas,  and    Barinas,  or 


189 

through  other  roads  which  may  be  opened  and  that  ought  to 
be  protected.  These  reasons  impel  me  to  request  from  His 
Majesty  the  fortification  of  the  Padrastro  mountain,  and  to  call 
His  Royal  attention  to  the  fortress  of  Guayana  as  more  im- 
portant than  that  of  Cartliagena,  on  account  of  the  largest 
interests  involved.  And  I  suspect  that  the  English  are  project- 
ing something  about  the  fortress  of  Guayana,  and  for  that 
reason  the  Padrastro  mountain  ought  to  be  fortified  before 
going  to  a  new  war  with  said  nation,  because  if  it  so  ha[)pens 
and  they  seize  the  fortress,  it  could  not  be  recovered  by  force 
without  lil)eral  allowances  by  capitulation. 


Chapter    III. 

That  the  city  shall  be  preserved,  and  by  all  jjossible  means  the 
population  increased  to  twice  its  present  inhabitants. 

1.  I  have  shown,  likewise,  in  parts  first  and  second,  that 
those  who  discovered  the  Orinoco  founded  Guayana  in  front 
of  the  Island  of  Fajardo,  near  the  banks  of  the  Caroni  river,, 
as  shown  in  the  map.  That  having  been  burnt  by  the  Hol- 
landers, the  natives,  not  minding  Angostura  and  being  already 
acquainted  with  the  Orinoco,  founded  the  city  of  Santo  Thome 
de  Guayana,  eight  leagues  below  said  Caroni  river,  where  for 
the  second  time  the  breadth  of  the  Orinoco  river  is  reduced 
to  from  1,400  to  1,500  yards,  and  begins  to  be  divided  into  a 
labyrinth  of  mouths,  through  which  it  empties  into  the  sea. 
That  in  the  last  century  the  French  set  fire  to  the  city,  and  the 
residents  being  certain  that  there  was  no  other  ground  more 
adequate  for  a  fortification  and  a  stopping  point  of  the  Orinoco, 
rebuilt  it,  and  although  in  the  year  1740  it  was  burnt  by  the 
English,  neither  the  residents,  nor  the  Engineer  Don  Anto- 
nio Jordan,  nor  the  Brigadier  Don  Gregorio  de  Espinosa, 
thought  proper  to  change  the  place,  and  reconstructed  again 
the  new  Guayana,  locating  there  all  the  forces  necessary,  as  the 
only  point  fit  to  secure  the  Orinoco. 

,   That  was,  besides,  the  opinion  of  the  Engineer  Don  Gaspar 
de  Lara  and  Brigadier  Don  Diego  Tavares,  notwithstanding 


ino 

that  they  had  come,  like  tlieir  })redecessors,  under  particular 
directions  to  fortify  Angostura,  ilis  Excellency  Don  Sebastian 
de  Eslava,  Viceroy  of  Santa  Fe,  in  virtue  of  Royal  directions 
approviMl  the  i-cj)(»rt  ol  Tavarcs  and  his  j)redecessor,  Espinosa, 
and  ordered  all  the  forces  in  charge  of  the  safety  of  the  Orinoco 
to  1)6  located  at  the  fortress.  To-day  it  is  sufficiently  fortified 
to  prevent  the  foreigners'  illicit  trade  and  the  entrance  of  the 
Carihs,  their  allies,  in  the  Orinoco  river,  and  their  landing  and 
hostile  demonstrations  against  these  Provinces,  as  they  did 
before  until  the  year  1747.  Tavares  made  the  repairs  needed 
in  the  year  1740,  cau.sed  by  the  English  attacks,  and  increased 
the  garrison  and  the  neighborhood,  but  it  is  unable  to  resist 
the  enemies  of  the  Royal  Crown  that  may  come  to  hold  it  and 
destroy  it  again,  on  account  of  the  want  of  corresponding  forti- 
fications and  efficiency  of  the  garrison  and  residents  to  defend 
those  that  they  have  already,  nor  those  that  may  be  constructed. 
The  eastern  and  western  lands  around  iVngostura  are  inun- 
dated, and  have  no  timber,  kindling  wood,  pasture,  or  farming- 
grounds.  Angostura  stands  on  a  narrow  strip  of  laud  of  low 
and  continuous  hills,  in  no  way  fit  for  the  establishment  of  a 
population,  and  very  difficult  to  be  defended  on  account  of  the 
conditions  of  the  place.  The  transfer  of  the  residents  of  Gua- 
yana  will  reduce  them  to  a  miserable  condition  of  poverty,  on 
account  of  the  abandonment  of  their  homes  and  ])lantations 
which  they  possess.  They  can  not  subsist  in  Angostura  for 
want  of  supplies,  unless  they  are  supported  at  the  expense  of 
the  Royal  Treasury,  which  will  involve  a  very  serious  outlay. 
It  is  not  practicable  to  aggregate  to  that  garrison  the  escorts  of 
the  Jesuits  of  the  Orinoco  and  Dominicans  of  Barinas,  nor  the 
detachment  of  52  men  from  the  remnants  of  the  garrison  of 
Araya,  and  still  less  to  keep  them  permanently  there  with 
their  families.  The  desert  part  of  the  Province  of  Cumana 
can  not  furnish  the  necessary  men  for  the  numerous  garrison  of 
Angostui'a,  where,  in  order  to  relieve  the  detachment  of  the 
Jesuits,  Dominicans  of  l>arinas,  Catalan  Capuchins,  Observants 
of  Piritu,  the  Island  of  Trinida<l  and  the  fortress,  500  men  are 
necessary  and  must  be  kept  as  a  standing  garrison  in  their 
•corresponding  post,  as  they  are  now. 


191 

No  matter  liovv  Angostura  be  fortified  it  will  be  impossible 
to  avoid  the  landino:  of  forei^'irers  and  their  entrance  in  the 
Provinces  of  Cuniana,  Barcelona,  Caracas,  Barinas,  and  Santa 
Fe,  if  the  fortress  of  Guayana  be  lost,  nor  is  it  feasible  that  the 
natives  of  this  Province  reach  said  fort,  by  the  way  of  Camino 
Real,  shown  in  the  map,  or  through  other  roads  to  be  opened 
in  those  deserts.  No  matter  how  Angostura  be  fortified  it  can 
not  defend  the  fortress  of  Guayana  nor,  after  the  loss  of  said 
fort,  defend  itself,  no  matter  how  well  fortified  and  how  strong 
the  garrison  which  it  contains  may  be,  nor  avoid  that  the 
foreigners  become  masters  of  the  place  of  the  Orinoco  river, 
and  of  the  extensive  Province  of  Guayana  and  their  free  en- 
trance in  Cumana,  Barcelona,  Caracas,  Barinas,  Santa  Fe, 
Popayan,  and  Quito. 

2.  Bearing  in  mind  all  these  circumstances  and  undeniable 
facts,  and  following  the  opinion  well  founded  of  the  founders 
of  the  fortress  of  Santo  Thome,  that  of  the  Engineer  Fajardo 
and  the  rest,  following  up  to  the  approval  of  His  Excellency, 
Seilor  Don  Sebastian  de  Eslava,  and  in  view  of  what  has  been 
demonstrated  by  experience,  I  crave,  most  humbly,  that  His 
Majesty  may  decide  that  in  no  event  the  transfer  of  the  city 
to  Angostura  be  attempted,  as  eutirely  contrary  to  the  interest 
of  His  Royal  service  and  the  safety  of  these  his  vast  dominions  ; 
and  I  crave,  likewise,  that  His  Majesty  may  order  that  the  city 
and  fortress  of  Guayana,  by  all  possible  means,  be  increased 
to  the  number  of  200  inhabitants,  so  as  to  have  the  men  en- 
listed in  two  or  three  militia  companies,  rendering  assistance 
to  the  garrison  and  managing  the  artillery,  in  which  exercise 
they  must  be  trained  and  well  disciplined,  with  very  especial 
care,  as  they  may  be  of  great  service  ;  the  increase  of  neigh- 
bors will  not  be  difficult  if  His  Majesty  grants  some  exceptions 
and  privileges  to  those  going  to  settle  and  stay  there,  being 
well  understood  that  this  object  can  not  be  attained  in  a  short 
time,  on  account  of  the  want  of  victuals  and  houses  where  to 
stop,  but  it  w^ill  be  easy,  within  three  or  four  years  longer, 
through  diligent  agents  and  the  corresponding  measures  for 
the  help  of  the  new  neighbors  and  those  who  are  now  existing 
and  cultivating  their  farms,  improving  the  same,  and  in  the 


192 

Missions  alrcaily  will  trained,  and  enjoying  good  farming 
lands,  and  with  those  of  the  ntnv  Spanish  fouiKhition  of  San 
Antonio  do  U[)ata  the  s;imo  cave  may  he  had.  \>y  this  in- 
crease of  the  neiu'hh(ii-li(M)d  of  the  uarrisi^n,  and  the  eorres})ond- 
ing  fortification  tliat  1  have  exphiined,  His  Majesty  will  feel 
most  safe  ;  the  foi-eio-ners  will  stop  before  [)Uttin<;'  into  practice 
their  pi'ojet-t.  and  will  nc^t  attem})t  to  take  and  fortify  Angos- 
tura, without  taking  the  fortress  ;  their  illicit  commerce  will  be 
very  easily  stopped  ;  the  large  expenses  considered  necessary, 
as  reported  to  His  Majesty  without  sufficient  knowledge,  will 
be  reduced,  and  the  residents  of  Guayana  will  be  spared  the 
infliction  of  the  loss  of  their  plantations  and  their  homes  in 
the  city,  in  order  to  have  them  build  new  houses  in  Angos- 
tura while  exposed  t:)tlieo})en  air,  and  thesure  inconvenience 
of  the  new  grounds,  wdien  they  are  newly  opened  and  cleared, 
and  from  this  exposure  many  of  the  new  neighbors  may  perish 
or  give  up  the  place  under  the  affliction  of  various  diseases, 
and  Guayana  may  be  depopulated,  costing  more  labor,  money 
and  tinie  the  congregation  of  a  like  number  of  neighbors  as 
now  exist,  and  those  who  are  thought  necessar}'^,  in  order  to 
have  them  accustomed  to  the  climate,  and  in  condition  to 
undertake  new  plantations  and  farms,  without  which  no  po[iu- 
lation  can  exist  there  or  in  Angostura. 


Chapter  IV. 

Tliat  the  garrison  of  the  Fortress  he  increased  by  73  men,  as  pro- 
posed by  the  Governors,  Don  Gregorio  de  Espinosa  and  Don 
Matlieo  Glial,  and  as  I  have  requested  His  Majesty  in  my  rep- 
resentation of  fJic  27th.  of  August,  1761. 

1.  In  j)art  second  I  have  shown  that  it  is  not  practicable  to 
aggregate  to  the  garrison  of  the  fortress  of  Guayana  the  73  men 
of  the  escort  of  the  Jesuits  of  Orinoco  and  of  the  Dominicans 
of  Barinas,  and  that  even  if  it  were  practicable,  by  relieving 
these  detachments,  the  expense  of  doing  so  will  amount  from 
$2,500  to  S3,000.     That  the  25  men  that  have  been  reported  to 


193 

His  Majesty  as  belonging  to  tiie  fort  of  Limoncs  are  imaginary, 
as  there  is  not,  nor  ever  has  been,  any  such  25  men  there,  nor 
ever  will  be  unless  His  Majesty  requires  them,  allotting  the 
necessary  funds  for  their  subsistence.  In  that  case  it  will  be 
very  easy  to  muster  the  men  into  the  service.  It  is  not  practi- 
cable to  complete  the  garrison,  which  used  to  belong  to  Araya, 
so  as  to  send  them  by  detachments  or  as  a  standing  force  with 
the  25  men  and  others  remaining  from  that  garrison  to  serve 
in  Guayana.  If  it  were  practicable  that  the  73  men  of  the  es- 
corts of  the  Jesuits  of  Orinoco  and  the  Dominicans  of  Barinas, 
the  25  men  of  the  Fort  of  Limones,  and  the  52  of  the  garrison 
of  Araya,  aggregated  to  the  J  00  of  the  allotment  of  the  fort- 
ress, in  all,  250  men  existing  in  Angostura,  in  order  to  provide 
the  detachments  of  the  Missions  of  the  Jesuits  of  Orinoco, 
Dominicans  of  Barinas,  CataUm  Capucliins,  Observants  of 
Piritu,  the  Island  of  Trinidad  and  the  fortress,  this  force  is  too 
small,  and  no  less  than  500  men  are  wanted  to  relieve  said 
detachments,  or  else  they  must  remain  in  their  fixed  posts  and 
respective  employments  where  they  are  at  present.  Although 
His  Majesty  may  allow  the  500  men  suggested  for  the  post  of 
Angostura  at  the  fixed  corresponding  annual  salaries,  involv- 
ing an  expense  of  |64,000  to  $65,000,  it  is  not  practicable,  for 
want  of  provisions,  to  keep  them  without  houses  or  adequate 
headquarters,  nor  hospital,  apothecary  shop,  or  surgeon,  and 
because  this  desert  Province  can  not  furnish  such  a  large  num- 
ber of  single  or  married  men  for  said  garrison,  as  in  the  eigiit 
settlements  under  this  Government  only  1,000  men  are  able  to 
bear  arms  who  are  considered  to  be  white  persons,  and  it  is  not 
possible  that  these  500  men  go  to  Angostura  and  be  replaced 
whenever  they  die,  desert,  or  are  disabled  to  do  duty.  Even  if 
it  was  practicable,  500  men,  or  even  a  greater  number,  placed 
in  Angostura,  can  not  defend  the  fortress  of  Guayana;  and  if 
this  is  lost,  that  of  Angostura  itself  can  not  be  defended  or 
prevent  the  enemies  from  taking  it  as  well  as  the  Orinoco,  and 
go  inland  into  the  Provinces  of  Cumana,  Barcelona,  Caracas, 
Barinas,  and  Santa  Fe,  and  introduce  at  least  their  trade  in 
every  one  of  them,  and  in  Popayan  and  Quito,  becoming  mas- 
ters of  the  deserted  Guayana. 

Vol.  I,  Ven. — 13 


194 

2.  I  liave  slioAvii,  likcwisf,  that  accordinrr  to  the  opinion  of 
my  i)redecessors,  Espinosa  and  (Juah  and  with  tlie  knowledge 
that  I  ac(|uired  in  my  general  visit  of  tliis  Province,  the 
Orinoco,  and  the  fortress  of  Guayana,  I  submitted,  under  date 
of  the  27th  of  August,  1701,  to  His  Majesty,  that  if  it  was  his 
Royal  pleasure  the  Castle  of  Araya  ought  to  be  demolished, 
aud  that  it  was  convenient  that  the  fortress  of  Guayana  should 
be  allowed  the  increase  of  its  garrison  with  one  company  of  a 
captain,  lieutenant,  sub-lieutenant,  and  70  men,  so  as  to  facili- 
tate the  corresponding  escorts  to  the  Misions  of  the  Catalan  Cajai- 
chins  and  tlie  Observants  of  Piritu,  but  by  no  means  it  ought 
to  ])e  counted  lor  tliat  purpose  the  ti'0oj)s, serving  at  tlie  Castle 
of  Arax'a,  for  the  reason  adduced  in  that  corres[>ondence,  and 
that  it  should  be  easy  to  form  that  company  with  men  wlio, 
of  their  own  free  will,  would  be  readv  to  go  and  reside,  doinfj 
duty  at  the  fortress  of  Guayana. 

3.  Well  aware  now  of  the  unavoidable  ditticulties  and  large 
and  useless  expenses  that  might  be  occasioned  by  the  accumu- 
lation of  so  many  men  at  Angostura  and  the  indefensive  con- 
dition in  wdiich  the  Orinoco  river  might  be  left,  with  the 
greatest  veneration  I  renew  my  humble  request  to  His  Majesty 
for  the  increase  of  the  above-mentioned  coni})any,  considering 
in  kecj)ing  with  the  convenience  of  the  Royal  service  that  saicJ 
company  be  com|)osed  of  men  willing  to  go  and  serve  in  that 
fortress,  without  having  to  compel  the  natives  of  this  city  to 
do  so,  for  the  reasons  I  have  shown  in  part  second  as  being 
impracticable,  with  the  only  difference  that  in  my  report  of 
the  27th  of  August  I  represented  to  His  Majesty  that  the  new 
company  might  answer  for  the  escorts  of  the  Missions.  And 
now,  with  the  same  reverence,  I  submit  to  the  Royal  considera- 
tion of  His  Majesty,  that  in  case  he  decides  the  construction  at 
the  mountain  of  Padrastro  of  the  Castle  of  Concepcion,  the 
73  men  of  said  company,  and  the  allowance  of  100  more  for 
the  garrison  of  the  fortress,  to  lill  all  the  posts  and  contingen- 
cies of  the  fortification,  can  not  be  detached  to  escort  the  Mis- 
sions, and  that  will  be  the  only  thiuf^  that,  out  of  convenience 
of  the  Royal  service,  has  to  be  changed  of  what  I  have 
stated  in  my  cijumninication   of  the  27th  of  August.     I  cou- 


195 

sider  injurious  and  onerous  to  tlie  Royal  Treasury  the  greater 
increase,  that  has  been  represented  to  His  Majesty  as  neces- 
sary, of  a  company  of  100  men,  as  a  siraihir  number  of  militia- 
men may  be  aggregated  to  the  fortifications,  as  I  have  suggested; 
and  I  consider  sufficiently  safe  the  Orinoco  river,  commanding 
the  resj)ect  of  the  enemy,  whose  squadrons  could  not  come 
and  assault  that  place  but  with  smaller  vessels,  and  unable  to 
stand  the  fires  of  the  castle  of  San  Francisco  and  of  the  pro- 
jected fortress  of  Concepcion  and  the  ravelin,  being  defended 
by  i73  regular  soldiers,  and  as  many  or  more  mihtiamen,  who 
could  not  be  surprised  nor  surrendered  without  giving  ample 
time  to  receive  the  support  of  tliis  government  with  provisions 
and  superior  forces,  which  the  enemy  could  not  stop,  as  they 
will  never  be  masters  of  the  Orinoco  river,  without  taking  the 
Castle  of  Concepcion  and  its  collateral  of  San  Francisco  and 
the  ravelin.  The  large  annual  expense  of  keeping  500  men 
in  Angostura,  and  the  detachments  to  defend  the  fortress  of 
Guayana,  Orinoco,  and  Angostura  may  be  saved,  and  it  will 
be  unnecessary  the  increase  of  funds  for  the  maintenance  of 
the  73  men  of  the  suggested  company,  as  they  may  subsist  out 
of  the  savings  of  the  demolished  and  suppressed  fortification 
of  Araya,  as  I  proposed  to  His  Majesty  in  my  above-mentioned 
communication  of  tlie  27th  of  August,  and  have  been  already 
done  by  the  Governors  in  dealing  with  this  subject  and  the 
fortification  of  the  Castle  of  Guayana,  as  shown  by  their  cor- 
responding representations  quoted  in  the  present  one. 


Cliai>ter  V. 

Til  at  the  fort  of  Limones  be  abandoned  and  a  launch  be  I'ept  at 
the  fortress,  as  represented  to  his  Majesty  by  the  Marquis  of 
San  Philipe,  and  if  Angostura  is  to  he  fortified,  to  be  so  with 
only  the  battery  which  wan  proposed  by  the  Governor,  Don 
Juan  de  la  Tornera,  and  is  sitown  by  figure  p  of  the  map. 

1.  In  Chapter  6,  of  part  first,  I  have  stated  all  the  circum- 
stances which  gave  rise  t-j  the  construction  of  the  fort  of  Li- 
mones and  those  following  up  to  the  time  of  the  receipt  of  the 


196 

present  Royal  Order.  In  Chajiter  9,  from  Nos.  50  to  88, 1  have 
explained  the  situation,  shape,  and  diameters  of  the  fort,  the 
waiit  of  solidity  of  that  ground,  and  how  it  is  inundated  by 
the  Orinoco;  that  said  fort  is  divided  into  ten  (juarters,  useless 
and  out  of  repairs ;  that  it  is  uninhabitable  and  intok-rable,  the 
plague  of  insects  produced  by  the  flood  of  the  ground  upon 
which  it  stands ;  tliat  in  its  present  condition,  and  even  if  it 
were  in  perfect  order,  it  could  not  subsist  in  that  phice,  close  to 
the  high  banks  of  the  Orinoco,  that  has  taken  out  60  yards  in 
front  since  the  time  of  the  commencement  of  the  work,  and  will 
take  many  more  in  that  movable  ground  if  it  is  cleared  of 
trees,  and  may  spread  and  extend  its  bed  as  far  as  to  render 
useless  the  Castle  of  San  Francisco  and  the  projected  one  of 
Concepcion.  From  Nos.  53  to  60  of  part  second,  I  have  shown 
that  by  the  present  form  already  given  to  the  fortress  of 
Guayana,  and  witliout  any  help  or  need  of  the  fort  of  Limones, 
the  Orinoco  has  been  closed  to  the  foreigners  and  their  ilHcit 
trade,  and  to  the  Caribs,  who  often  invaded  the  Provinces,  and 
that  if  the  mountain  of  Padrastro  is  fortified  the  foreigners 
could  not  take  it  nor  continue  their  commerce.  From  Nos. 
114  to  118  of  part  second,  and  other  works  (sic)  directed  by 
Royal  Order  and  reported  to  his  Majesty  {sic),  they  in  no  way 
prevent  the  inevitable  ruin  threatening  the  fort  nor  the  inun- 
dations of  that  ground,  nor  its  want  of  solidity,  the  plague  of 
insects  produced,  nor  the  sinking  of  the  fort  with  the  banks  of 
the  Orinoco,  nor  the  spread  of  its  bed,  requiring  only  large 
disbursements  and  undue  expenses.  In  note  9  of  the  memo- 
randum of  reports,  witliout  being  well  aware  of  such  powerful 
reasons,  I  show  that  tlie  fortress  of  Limones  ought  to  be  aban- 
doned. And  now  I  say  tliat  being  divided  into  ten  quarters,  u^^e-. 
less  for  the  service  and  out  of  repairs,  becoming  uninhabitable 
on  account  of  the  plague  of  insects  produced  in  that  swampy 
ground,  where  the  Orinoco  river  carries  away  every  part 
wliich  is  cleared  of  trees,  spreading  its  bed  and  making  useless 
the  fortification  of  San  Francisco  and  those  of  Padrastro,  and 
the  experience  demonstrating  that  without  the  fort  of  Limones 
tiic  Orinoco  has  been  closed  to  foreigners  and  may  be  secured 
oidy  by  the   fortification  of  the  Padrastro   mountain,  I  am  of 


197 

the  opinion,  if  it  meet  the  approval  of  his  Majesty/that  the 
fort  of  Limones  must  be  abandoned  and  the  banks  of  the  river 
be  {^reserved  by  not  allowing  the  cutting  of  trees  or  removal 
of  timber  from  there,  nor  opening  any  new  roads.  That  will 
be  the  best  way  to  secure  the  ground  and  prevent  the  river 
Orinoco  from  spreading  its  bed  above  it,  and  probably  restore 
the  GO  yards  which  have  been  taken  away,  and  the  23  from 
the  Island  of  Limones. 

2.  With  the  same  profound  reverence,  I  submit  to  His  Maj- 
esty, that  in  order  to  stop  the  illicit  trade  of  the  foreigners 
navigating  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  I  consider  necessary  to 
the  Royal  service  to  keep  a  launcii,  of  the  Galera  shape,  at  the 
fortress,  with  capacity  for  an  8-pounder  on  the  prow  and  four 
or  five  swivel  guns  on  the  sides,  well  manned  and  paid,  and 
not  with  unwilling  parties  and  residents  to  the  fortress  without 
a  salarv  and  at  a  great  injury  of  their  families,  as  it  has  been 
done  heretofore,  with  the  necessary  evil  consecjuences  repre- 
soited  to  His  Majesty  by  the  Marquis  of  San  Philipe  in  his 
memorials  quoted  in  Nos.  4  and  5  of  Chapter  G.  The  launch 
so  armed,  manned,  and  guarded  by  some  troop  on  board  could 
not  be  opposed  by  any  sloop  or  schooner  of  those  trading  on 
the  Orinoco,  no  matter  how  well  armed  ;  it  could  not  be  re- 
sisted, on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  turning  around  in  the 
narrow  creeks  and  against  such  a  rapid  current. 

3.  I  submit,  likewise,  to  the  Roval  consideration,  that  the  said 
launch  and  fortification  of  the  Padrastro  mountain  defended 
by  the  Castle  of  Concepcion  and  the  ravelin,  I  consider  as  cer- 
tain that  the  illicit  trade  of  the  foreigners  will  not  continue  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  which  will  be  safe,  and  the  fortress 
in  capacity  to  resist  any  enemies  of  the  Royal  Crown  intending 
to  give  an  assault ;  but  if,  notwithstanding  all  those  circum- 
stances, the  fortification  of  Angostura  meet  the  Royal  pleasure, 
I  consider  sufficient  the  only  battery  shown  in  figure  9  of  the 
map,  located  where  it  was  proposed  by  the  Governor  Don  .Juan 
de  la  Tornera,  in  a  ground  not  subject  to  inundations,  where  it 
may  be  furnished  with  provisions  and  people  of  the  settlements 
of  Aragua  and  Pao,  without  any  need  to  cross  the  Orinoco,  and 
-other  convincing  reasons  which  I  omit.     To  serve  this  battery, 


198 

a  sergeant  with  8  ov  10  men  from  11  ic  fortress  may  be  detached, 
and  I  do  not  consider  it  entirely  useless,  as  it  will  always  com- 
mand some  respect,  ])resenting  a  second  pass  of  the  illieit 
traders  of  the  country,  the  only  employment  of  the  said 
battery,  but  not  for  the  defense  of  the  Orinoco,  as  Angostura 
without  it,  nor  with  any  fortifications  whatever,  can  delend 
itself  nor  the  wliole  of  the  Orinoco  if  the  fortress  of  Guayana 
be  lost. 


Cbaptor  A  I. 

TJidt  flic  3Iisfiioiis  of  the  Cafalan.  Cap ncJi in  Fathers  and  of  the 
Observants  of  Piritn  be  attended  to,  as  I  have  requested  before, 
in  consequence  of  my  general  visit. 

1.  I  have  shown  in  Chapter  3  of  pai't  lirst,  that  although  the 
bodies  of  Missions  spreading  the  Gospel  through  the  Provinces 
of  Cumana  and  Barcelona  have  been  always  in  want  of  more 
Missioners  to  make  up  their  corresponding  numbers,  and  de- 
prived of  suflficient  alms  for  their  subsistence  and  ornaments, 
images  and  bells  for  their  Church  in  their  new  settlement, 
without  sufficient  escorts  to  keep  and  improve  them,  it  is  due 
to  them  the  pacification  of  these  vast  Provinces  and  the  estab- 
ment  of  sixty-nine  towaiships,  containing  trom  2G,000  to 
27,000  Indians;  among  them  the  village  of  Aragua,  the  settle- 
ment of  Pao,  Rio  Caribe  and  Carupano  of  the  Spaniards, 
besides  other  improvements  known  and  already  explained, 
that  without  these  bodies  of  Missioners  should  have  rendered 
useless  all  the  measures  of  the  Governors  on  the  subject. 

In  Chapter  8  I  have  explained  that  to  the  Mission  of  the  Cata- 
lan Ca))uchins,  spreading  the  Gospel  in  the  Province  of  Guay- 
ana, is  due  the  establishment  of  24  settlements,  although  only  16 
are  now  in  existence.  The  fortress  of  Guayana  has  been  formed 
and  brought  up  to  its  present  condition,  which  could  never  have 
been  obtained  or  subsisted  without  the  help  of  the  Missions,  and 
lately  the  establishment  of  San  Antonio  de  Upata  is  due  to  said 
Mission.     In   consequence  of  my  general  visit,  I  submitted  to 

s  Majesty  the  condition  of  these  bodies  of  IMissions,  their 


199 

wants,  and  the  abuses  introduced,  making  impossible  the  col- 
lection of  the  alms  assigned  to  them  ;  the  necessity  of  more 
Missioners  as  well  as  ornaments,  images  and  bells  for  the  new 
settlements,  and  sufficient  escorts  for  the  protection  of  those 
established  already  and  the  future  settlements.  Tlie  great 
convenience  to  the  Royal  service  for  the  safety  of  those  exten- 
sive dominions  and  the  spiritual  benefit  of  so  many  poor 
Indians  spread  throughout  them,  require  the  support  of  these 
bodies  of  Missions  and  their  progress,  going  farther  inland 
through  the  extensive  Province  ot  Guayana,  as  shown  by  the 
copies  of  said  communications  and  other  documents  therein 
quoted  at  folio  247  of  the  proceedings  accompanying  the  pres- 
ent report. 

2.  And  to-day  I  most  humbly  submit  to  His  Majesty,  in  the 
interest  of  the  Royal  service,  His  Sovereignty,  the  safety  of 
these  Provinces,  and  the  propagation  of  our  holy  religion,  that 
the  Catalan  Capuchins  be  protected  and  their  alms  made  effec- 
tive, allowing  them  more  ]\Iissioners  and  a  sufficient  escort ; 
that  the  same  protection  be  extended  to  the  Observants  of 
Piritu,  and  that  the  greater  part  of  this  body  of  Missioners  go 
over  to  the  Orinoco  (as  it  has  been  ordered),  and  be  established 
in  the  Province  of  Guayana  within  the  terms  expressed  in  said 
communication;  that  in  the  same  Province  of  Guayana,  at 
proportional  distances,  two  or  three  bodies  of  Missions  be  kept 
where  they  have  sufficient  work  to  do ;  and  that  the  four  or 
five  bodies  established  there  go  farther  inland  on  the  banks  of 
the  Orinoco  to  the  soutli,  as  it  is  done  by  the  Catalan  Capu- 
chins, thus  succeeding  in  occupying  the  countries  in  the  rear 
of  the  colonies  of  Esquivo  belonging  to  the  Dutch,  and  those 
of  Cayena  occupied  by  the  French.  The  extensive  Province 
of  Guayana  will  be  known,  the  infinite  number  of  Indian  in- 
habitants will  be  pacified,  and  it  will  be  ascertained  how  the 
Portuguese  are  going  inland  and  coming  to  the  north.  At  the 
same  time  the  Provinces  of  Cumana,  Barcelona,  and  Caracas 
have  been  increased  with  new  Spanish  settlements  without  the 
least  cost  to  the  Royal  Treasury  or  violence  to  the  settlers ;  and 
in  the  same  way  those  of  Guayana,  which  have  been  already 
commenced,  may  be  settled,  as  that  of  San  Antonio  de  Upata. 


200 

But  if  the  Indians  are  not  pacifiod,  or  in  capacity  to  help  the 
Spaniards  in  tlieir  labors,  it  will  not  be  possible  to  establish 
any  settlements,  and  still  in  such  remote  countries,  as  by  re- 
peated instances  it  has  been  demonstrated  in  America,  and 
lately  in  the  same  Province  of  Guaynna  in  the  cases  of  the 
cities  Real  Corona,  Ciudad  Real,  and  San  Fernando,  in  which, 
notwithstandino-  the  immense  amounts  already  expended  for 
their  establishment,  the  only  results  obtained  have  been  trou- 
bles and  misfortunes,  and  they  never  reached  the  conditions  of 
the  settlement  of  San  Antonio  de  Upata,  that  has  cost  nothing 
to  the  Royal  Treasury,  as  shown  by  Nos.  93  to  112,  Chapter  9, 
of  part  first. 

3.  In  ni}'  representation  of  the  27th  of  August,  1701,  I  sug- 
gested to  His  Majesty  that  by  an  increase  of  73  men  to  the 
fortress  of  Guayana  the  Missions  of  the  Catalan  Capuchins  and 
the  Observants  of  Piritu  might  be  escorted.  In  the  ])revious 
chapter  I  have  shown  that  by  fortifying  the  Padrastro  moun- 
tain, as  I  re({uest  His  Majesty  to  do,  the  73  men  are  necessary 
for  that  garrison,  so  as  to  cover  the  posts  of  the  fortifications 
and  other  (;outingencies  of  the  fortress,  allowing  the  corre- 
sponding escorts  to  the  Missions. 

4.  And  now  I  most  reverently  submit  to  His  Majesty  to 
allow  the  Catalan  Capuchins  20  or  24  men  as  a  standing  escort 
of  the  Mission;  tliat  they  must  be  horsemen,. as  the  infantry 
is  not  quite  as  useful  and  has  to  be  idle  most  of  the  time,  Avith- 
out  any  action  distributed  around  the  settlements ;  which  is 
not  the  case  with  the  horsemen,  who  must  go  every  da}^ 
around  the  country  and  become  familiar  with  the  different 
places,  keeping  the  Indians  in  fear,  when  not  settled,  and 
avoiding  many  difHculties,  rendering  })rompt  assistance  wher- 
ever wanted,  and  such  is  not  the  case  with  the  infantry.  It 
will  be  advisable  that  the  [x'r.sons  of  said  escort  be  married 
men  and  keep  their  families  there,  as  it  is  the  case  with  the 
escort  of  the  Missions  of  the  Jesuits,  as  that  will  be  the  only 
way  to  avoid  disorders  and  injuries  to  the  Indians  witli  sol- 
diers from  the  fortress  detached  to  the  new  settlement,  where 
they  forget  the  duties  of  their  profession,  the  military  subordi- 


201 

nation,  and  become  otherwise  objectionable.  The  families  of 
the  married  men  are  attached  to  the  places  where  they  are 
brought  up,  and  the  result  is  beneficial  to  the  populations, 
without  need  of  any  grenadiers,  as  the  Indians  are  very  easily 
controlled. 

5.  I  am  likewise  of  the  opinion  that  the  Observants  of  Piritu 
ought  to  be  allowed  12  men  at  present  while  they  do  not  go 
farther  inland  to  establish  other  settlements,  besides  the  three 
which  they  keep  in  said  Provinces,  and  proportionally  to  the 
other  bodies  of  Missions  spreading  the  Gospel  in  their  terri- 
tories, so  that  within  20  or  25  years,  without  any  excessive 
cost  to  the  Royal  Treasury  His  Majesty  may  have  a  Kingdom, 
now  unknown  in  that  extensive  Province,  while  the  miserable 
Indians  will  be  reduced  and  brought  to  the  bosom  of  our  holy 
religion,  trained  for  a  social  life  and  useful  for  the  help  of  the 
Spaniards,  who  may  establish  any  trade  there,  protecting  the 
same  Province  and  reimbursing  the  Royal  Treasury  of  the 
outlays  and  moneys  expended  now  for  their  settlement  and 
education,  the  only  proper  way  considered  adequate  for  the 
conquest  and  population  of.  America,  especially  those  coun- 
tries where  the  allurement  of  mines  and  the  interest  of  com- 
merce do  not  attract  visitors,  and  prescribed  by  repeated  laws 
of  His  Majesty  for  the  good  government  and  pacification  of 
the  Indies  and  the  newly  discovered  regions. 

6.  This  is,  most  Excellent  Sir,  what  I  consider  my  duty  to 
represent  to  His  Majesty,  in  answer  to  the  serious  matters  in- 
volved, as  a  good  vassal,  and  in  the  discharge  of  my  conscience, 
being  responsible  to  His  Royal  kindness  for  the  truth  of  every 
thing  that  I  have  stated.  Your  Excellency  (if  it  is  necessary) 
may  kindl}^  lay  it  before  His  Royal  notice,  and  I  beg  to  be 
excused  for  the  unusual  length  of  this  communication  in  my 
desire  to  fully  expand  the  various  points  embraced  in  the  Royal 
Order,  not  permitting  more  conciseness.  May  the  Lord  pre- 
serve the  life  of  Your  Excellency  for  many  happy  years,  as  it 
is  my  desire. 

Camana,  December  (15th)  fifteenth  of  seventeen  hundred 
and  sixty-three. 


202 

Most  Excellent  Sir. — Kissing  the  hand  of  your  Excellency. — 
Your  most  obedient  servant. 

Joseph  Diguja — [here  is  a  flourish,] 
To  the  Most  Excellent  Senor 

Baliff  Fr.  Don  Julian  de  Arriaga. 


This  copy  agrees  with  the  original  existing  in  the  General 
Archives  of  the  Indies,  in  Stand  133 — Case  3 — Docket  16 — 
Seville,  October  13th,  1891. 

The  Chief  of  Archives. 

Carlos  Jimenez  Placer — [here  is  a  flourish.] 

[seal.] — General  Archives  of  the  Indies. 


The  undersigned,  Consul  General  of  Venezuela  in  Spain, 
certifies  to  the  authenticity  of  the  signature  of  Senor  Carlos 
Jimenez  Placer,  Chief  of  the  general  Archives  of  the  Indies. 

Madrid,  28th  of  October,  1891. 

P.  FORTOULT  HURTADO. 


The  undersigned,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  of  the  United 
States  of  Venezuela,  certifies  to  the  authenticity  of  the  signa- 
ture of  Senor  Pedro  Foutoult  Hurtado,  Consul  General  of 
Vevezuela  in  Spain  at  the  preceding  date. 

Caracas,  March  Gth,  189G. 

P.  EZEQUIEL  ROJAS. 

[seal.] — ^linistry  of  Foreign  Affairs. 


203 

Stand  131.— Case  5. — Docket  7. 
General  Archives  of  the  Indies. —  (Seville.) 


1761. 


Memorandum  of  Notes  explaining  the  general  map  of  the 

Government    of  Ciimana  sent  to   His   Majesty   by  the 

/ 
Governor  Don  Jose  Digiija. 


CuMANA,  December  18,  1761. 


Notes  sent  to  His  Majesty  by  the  Governor,  Colonel  Don  Joseph 
Diguja  Villagomez,  in  the  year  1761,  for  the  prompt  and 
readier  understanding  of  the  general  map  of  the  Government 
of  Cumana. 

This  memorandum  contains  thirteen  notes.  In  the  firsts 
twelfth  and  thirteenth,  a  general  and  short  notice  is  given  of 
the  government  of  Cumana,  and  the  rest  refer  to  the  other 
Provinces  under  said  government,  particularly  the  settlements^ 
shown  by  the  map,  and  taken  from  the  acts  of  the  general 
visit  and  other  instruments  therein  quoted  and  observed  and 
recognized  in  the  course  of  said  visit  by  the  present  Governor. 

Government  of  Cumana. — Note  First. 

A  general  notice  is  given  of  the  government  of  Cumana,  the 
Provinces  composing  the  same,  the  climate,  the  place  of  resi- 
dence of  the  Governor,  the  Tribunal  to  which  the  same  gov- 
ernment is  subordinated,  its  Diocesan  Prelate,  the  Tribunal  of 
Crusades,  that  of  the  Inquisition,  the  neighboring  governments^ 
and  other  notes  showing  briefly  what  this  Government  is. 


204 

Government  of  Cumano,. 
The  Government  of  Cumana  is  one  of  the  more  extensive 
among  those  within  the  dominions  of  the  King  our  Lord  in 
these   Ilis  Royal  possessions  and  lies  more  to  the  eastward  of 
the  two  kingdoms  of  Santa  Fe  and  Peru. 

Provinces  compomif/  it. 

It  contains  three  Provinces,  to  wit,  that  of  New  Andalusia  or 
Cumana,  the  capital  of  which  is  kSanta  Inez  de  Cumana;  that 
of  New  Barcelona,  tlie  cai)ital  of  which  hears  this  name;  and 
that  of  Guayana,  the  capital  of  which  is  the  fortress  of  Santo 
Thome  de  la  Guayana,  altliough  the  largest  in  territory,  is 
totally  unpopulated,  and  a  little  less  is  true  with  respect  to  the 
other  two.  In  these  three  Provinces  there  is  a  variety  of  lands, 
elevated  and  extensive  sierras,  spacious  plains,  important  rivers, 
especially  the  great  Orinoco  that  runs  through  the  center  of  all 
the  Government  territory,  and  others  of  less  importance ;  and, 
without  being  unproductive,  many  countries  depending  upon 
only  rain  water. 

Its  hcif/Jit  and  temperature. 

The  greatest  height  found  within  these  Provinces  is  the  Cape 
of  Three  Points,  on  the  coast  of  Paria,  which  is  at  10°  20'  north 
latitude  and  313°  {sic)  and  30'  west  longtitude  ;  but  withal,  the 
climate  is  mild,  free  from  the  excessive  heat  of  other  countries 
of  similar  situation,  that  might  be  experienced  in  this  country, 
if  it  were  not  exposed  to  the  northern  and  eastern  winds  gen- 
erally from  the  beginning  of  November  to  tlie  beginning  or 
middle  of  June,  and  (hiring  those  months  there  is  hardl}^  any 
rain.  From  beginning  to  the  middle  of  June  the  winds  are 
variable,  from  the  northwest  and  the  south,  with  frequent 
showers  jiud  greater  heat,  l)ut  not  as  excessive  as  that  of  Car- 
tJiagena  and  the  Province  ot  that  name.  The  months  of  fre- 
quent rains  are  called  in  this  country  the  "  winter"  (envierno), 
in  spite  of  being  warmer  and  less  healthy. 

Residence  of  the  Governor. 
The  Governor  always  resides  in  the  city  of  Santa  Inez  de 
Cumana,  the   capital   of  the   tliree  Provinces.     He  is  named 


205 

Governor  and  Captain-General  of  them,  and  exercises  the 
Vice-Patronage  (in  ecclesiastical  vacancies),  the  Superintend- 
ence of  the  Royal  Treasury  and  of  the  branch  of  the  Crusade. 
The  rank  of  the  men  appointed  for  this  Government  has  gen- 
erally been  for  some  time  to  the  present  that  of  a  Colonel  and 
a  Brigadier,  although  sometimes  Lieutenant-Colonels  have 
been  appointed. 

Tribunals  to  ivhich  the  Government  is  subordinated. 
By  the  reserved  way  tlie  Royal  Orders  from  His  Majesty  are 
received  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Universal  Despatch  of  the 
Indies,  as  in  all  the  rest  of  America,  and  through  the  same 
this  Government  addresses  its  representations  and  affairs,  cor- 
responding to  that  classification. 

Royal  and  Supreme  Council  of  the  Indies. 
In  the  same  way  in  which  the  rest  of  America  receives  the 
Royal  Cedules  of  His  Majesty,  through  His  Royal  and  Supreme 
Council  of  the  Indies,  where  this  Government  sends  its  con- 
sultations and  affairs  corresponding  to  this  class,  but  with  the 
circumstances  that  this  Government,  being  on  the  mainland,  as 
those  of  the  Kingdoms  of  Santa  Fe  and  Peru,  and  subordi- 
nated to  the  Viceroyalty  of  the  former,  the  Royal  Despatches 
are  received  by  way  of  the  Secretary  of  New  Spain  by  which, 
and  not  by  that  of  Peru,  His  Majesty  addresses  his  above-men- 
tioned communications  to  this  Government,  having  no  Royal 
disposition  found  in  these  Archives  to  trace  the  origin  or  the 
cause  and  beginning  of  this  practice. 

Viceroy  of  Santa  Fe. 
In  Government  affairs  the  Governor  is  subordinated  to  the 
Viceroy  of  Santa  Fe ;  the  correspondence  with  that  capital  is 
so  very  rare  that  only  from  year  to  year  despatches  are  received 
from  the  hands  of  an  officer  of  the  fortress  of  Guayaua  going 
after  the  funds  assigned  at  the  Royal  Treasury  of  said  Capital 
for  the  payment  of  the  garrison.  The  officer  brings  the  de- 
spatches to  this  government,  to  the  Island  of  Trinidad,  and  ta 
that  of  Margarita,  likewise  subordinated  to  the  Viceroy,  who 
on  the  return  of  said  officer  sends  his  replies  to  the  aforesaid 


206 

three  governments,  as  the  only  occasion  avaihil)le,  and  costing 
said  garrison  §1,000,  paid  to  tlie  officer,  and  discounted  from 
their  own  sahiries-,  p7'o  rata,  at  the  time  of  effecting  the  annual 
payment  to  each  person  of  the  garrison. 

Royal  Audience  of  Santo  Domingo. 
In  regard  to  the  Provinces  of  Cuniana  and   Barcelona,  sub- 
jects of  contention  (in  the   lawsuits)  are  subordinated  to  the 
Royal  Audience  and  Chancery  of  JSanto  Domingo  in  the  Island 

SpaSola. 

Royal  Audience  of  Santa  Fe. 

They  are  likewise  subordinated  to  the  Royal  Audience  and 
Chancery  of  Santa  Fe  (all  subjects  of  contention),  in  the  Pro- 
vince of  Guayana. 

Viceroy  of  Mexico. 

To  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico  an  annual  report  is  sent,  giving 
an  account  of  the  branch  of  bulls  of  the  Holy  Crusade.  He 
disposes  of  this  fund,  after  deducting  the  greater  amount  re- 
mitted from  that  Royal  Treasury  to  meet  the  payments  here 
of  the  garrison  of  the  Castle  of  Araya. 

Chief  Accomptant  of  Caracas. 
The  Royal  Treasury  and  everything  that  appertains  to  it  in 
this  government  is  subordinated  to  the  Chief  Royal  Accompt- 
ant of  Caracas,  who  receives  the  accounts  of  these  Royal  officers 
and  the  other  Ministers  of  the  district. 

Diocesan  Prelate. 
The  Diocesan  Prelate  in  all  the  territory  of  this  government, 
the  Islands  of  Margarita  and  Trinidad,  is  the  Bishop  of  Porto 
Rico,  who  by  Royal  Order,  and  in  consideration  of  the  long 
distance  intervening,  appoints  a  Superintendent  Vicar  of  all 
these  annexed  territories  residing  at  the  capital  of  Cumana. 
It  is  very  remote  and  casual  the  correspondence  with  this  Pre- 
late, so  that  for  the  despatch  of  the  affairs  of  the  same  territo- 
ries certain  j)owers  are  delegated  by  said  Su[)erintendent  Vicar, 
one  of  them  i)eing  to  fill  the  ecclesiastical  beneficial  vacancies. 
Before  this  Minister  all  the  oi)p()sitions,  ap[)ointments  and  })re- 
sentations  by  the  Governor  are  made,  and  the  vacant  benefi- 


207 

ciaiy  iwst  is  filled,  according  to  the  Royal  directions,  and 
everything  is  attended  to  by  said  Vicar  in  the  affairs  con- 
nected with  tlie  Royal  patronage. 

Tribunal  of  the  Crusades. 
The  Tribunal  of  the  Crusades  resides  in  the  city  of  Cumana, 
under  a  particular  Commissioner,  Sub-Delegate  from  that  of 
Porto  Rico,  and  this  one  from  the  Commissioner  General  of 
the  Crusades,  in  conformity  with  the  last  Royal  directions  for 
the  administration  and  collection  of  this  branch,  in  conformity 
with  which  this  particular  Commissioner  exercises  his  powers 
■and  issues  his  decisions,  in  accord  with  the  Governor,  as  Super- 
intendent of  the  same  branch  in  this  district,  and  at  the  end  of 
each  proclamation  of  the  bull  takes  the  accounts  from  the 
Treasurer,  and  with  his  approval  or  the  objections  made  they 
are  forwarded  to  the  Government,  who  submits  them  to  the 
Royal  Officer  for  revision  and  auditing,  and  after  his  report 
he  approves  the  same  and  orders  the  delivery  by  tiie  Treasurer 
of  the  amount  to  the  Royal  coffers. 

Tribunal  of  the  Inquisition. 
The  Tribunal  of  the  Holy  Office  (the  Inquisition)  of  the  City 
of  Carthagena  of  Indies  has  at  present  two  Commissioners 
here,  one  who  resides  at  Cumana,  and  the  other  in  Barcelona, 
who,  according  to  their  powers,  institute  proceedings  on  the 
subjects  within  the  jurisdiction  of  their  tribunals,  and  forward 
the  cases,  after  being  substantiated,  to  their  Superiors. 

Neighboring  Governments. 
The  neighboring  Governments  are  those  of  the  Island  of 
Trinidad  to  the  leeward,  Margarita,  Caracas,  and  the  Province 
of  Santa  Fe,  as  shown  in  the  map ;  and  to  the  south  those  of 
the  Province  of  Guayana  with  the  dominions  possessed  by  the 
Most  Faithful  King  of  Brazil,  but  to  a  great  extent,  containing 
an  unknown  territory  without  any  precise  or  reliable  descrip- 
tion sufficient  to  form  a  correct  knowledge.  I  will  treat  what 
concerns  said  Province  in  a  special  note  in  which  notice  will 
be  taken  of  the  Dutch  and  Frencli  Colonies  to  the  east  of  them. 


208 

Sec  Notes  12  and  13. 
Ill  the  general  su miliary  contained  in  note  12,  anil  in  dealing 
witlj  the  subject  of  tiic  illicit  connnerce,  embracing  all  of  the 
note  13,  the  reports  df  the  pri'sciit  are  extended,  and  they  sliow, 
in  a  coiidciix'il  way.  the  chief  features  of  the  government  of 
Cuniana  and  the  other  Provinces,  as  contaiiu-d  in  the  memo- 
randum with  individual  references. 

Part   of  tlie    l*roviiic<>   of   (liiayana. — Note   S. 

Reference  of  the  few  and  conftisc(l  notions  about  the  Province 
of  (Juayaiia.  its  limits,  })rinri[)al  rivers,  gold  and  silver  mines, 
Dntcii  and  Frencii  Colonies  and  [)()[)ulations  of  all. 

Everything  that  has  been  shown  about  the  Provinces  of 
Cnniana  and  I>areelona  is  based  on  the  ijcrfect  knowledge 
obtained  of  their  situation,  lands,  temperature,  etc. ;  but  of  the 
vast  extension  of  Guayana  very  little  is  to  be  said,  and  most 
of  that  derived  from  Indian  reports,  or  rustic  people  deserving 
less  credit.  At  present  we  have  to  accept  those  reports  as  the 
only  data  we  have  of  this  Province,  and  in  this  connection  an 
exi)lanation  will  be  added  of  what  seems  to  be  sulhcient  to 
make  it  com})rehensible. 

Province  of  Gucu/ana. 
This  is  a  vast  Province,  most  of  which  is  unknown,  as  no  in- 
telligent {terson  has  visited  enough  territory  inland  of  it,  except 
the  Reverend  Catalan  Capuchin  Fathers,  and  that  througii 
only  a  short  distance,  as  shown  by  the  map,  and  will  be  ex- 
plained when  dealing  with  the  situation  of  the  Missions  estab- 
lished by  the  Capuchins.  Through  several  Carib  Indians  who, 
yielding  to  their  wandering  and  warlike  propensities  go  far 
inland,  away  from  their  native  haunts,  it  has  been  discovered 
that  in  the  center  of  extensive  prairies  and  high,  elevated 
sierras,  some  with  fertile  soils  and  many  covered  with  snow,  and 
l»eiiig  the  source  of  large  rivers,  including  the  great  Orinoco; 
that  in  some  of  said  sierras  and  forests  there  are  a  great  many 
Indians  of  various  tribes  ;  that  in  some  of  those  sierras,  although 
under  the  eiiuiiioctial  line  (.s/c)  (eiiuatorial),  the  weather  is  ex- 
cessivelv  cold,  and    the   reason   whv  said   Caribs  have  so  little 


209 

traffic  with  them  is  for  fear  of  dying-,  as  they  say,  and  shouhl  not 
be  strange,  on  account  of  their  nudity  and  habits  of  warm  coun- 
tries. Tliey  likewise  give  confused  reports  of  the  lagoon  of 
Parinia,  assuring  to  have  seen  in  it  various  islands,  most  of 
them  populated  by  Indians  who  live  on  the  abundant  fish  of 
said  lagoon,  which  receives  large  rivers,  running  from  the 
.sierras  covered  with  snow  towards  the  north  and  south  of  the 
lagoon ;  that  those  of  the  north,  and  where  the  source  of  the 
waters  of  the  Orinoco  is  found,  are  shown  in  the  map  situated 
.at  5°  latitude  {sic)  and  313°  longitude  (sic)  in  a  north  to  south 
direction  from  Angostura  and  the  Tableland  of  Guanipa.  The 
.Spaniards  have  only  surveyed  the  banks  of  the  Orinoco  and 
■8  or  10  leagues  inland,  by  the  way  of  what  they  call  Muitaco 
and  the  Missions  of  the  Reverend  Observant  Fathers  of  Piritu. 

Boundaries  of  the  Guar/ ana  Provinces. 
The  boundaries  of  the  Province  of  Guayana  are :  On  the  east 
.all  the  coast  in  which  the  Dutch  Colonies  are  situated,  Esquivo? 
Bervice,  Deraerari,  Corentine,  and  Surinam,  a'lid  further  to  the 
windward  that  of  Cayena  belonging  to  the  French.  On  the 
north,  the  banks  of  the  Orinoco  river  dividing  the  Provinces 
'Cumana,  Barcelona,  Caracas,  Barinas,  Santa  Fe,  and  Popayan, 
forming  a  semicircle,  returning  to  the  east  to  reach  the  sources 
of  the  Parima  lagoon,  as  it  will  be  seen  in  the  general  map  of 
said  Provinces  and  river.  On  the  south,  with  the  dominions 
of  the  Most  Faithful  King  in  Brazil,  the  confines  of  which,  as 
well  as  those  of  the  Province  of  Guayana  and  their  central 
contents,  are  unknown. 

Principal  rivers  of  the  Province. —  Orinoco  River. 
The  first  and  most  famous  river  of  the  Province  is  the  great 
Orinoco,  receiving  its  waters  within  the  same  Province  and 
being  the  receiver  of  those  of  all  the  other  rivers  coming  from 
the  Provinces  of  Popayan,  Santa  Fe,  Barinas,  Caracas,  and  Bar- 
celona. To  treat  of  all  of  them  should  go  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  present  report  about  the  Government  of  Cumana,  so  that 
as  the  rivers  from  the  Province  of  Barcelona  flowing  into 
•the  Orinoco  are  mentioned,  it  will  likewise  contain  those  more 

Vol.  1,  Ve.\— 14. 


•210 

important  and  well  known  of  the  same  Province  of  Guayana, 
from  whicli  it  comes  and  flows  into  the  sea,  and  the  other 
rivers  shown  in  the  map.  Those  that  are  not  represented  may 
be  seen  in  the  first  four  chapters  of  Padre  Gumilla's  "  Orinoco 
Illustrado,"  where  with  his  knowledge  and  individual  notice 
he  explains  what  the  Orinoco  river  is,  and  the  other  great 
rivers  it  receives,  except  those  towards  their  sources  that  said 
Father  considers  to  be  in  the  Province  of  Popayan  or  Timaua. 
From  the  exploration  of  the  late  Commissioners  of  the  exi)odi- 
dition  (of  boundaries)  in  charge  of  the  Chief  of  Squadron,  Don 
Joseph  de  Iturriaga,  for  tlie  demarkation  of  limits,  it  is  located 
at  the  Pari  ma  lagoon,  which  receives  its  first  waters  from  the 
snow  mountain  to  the  north  of  said  lagoon,  as  shown  in  the 
map.  The  mistake  of  Father  Gumilla  denying  the  commu- 
nication of  the  Orinoco  river  with  Rio  Negro  has  been  rectified, 
as  said  communication  was  not  in  doubt  at  the  time  of  the 
exploration  of  the  Commissioners,  having  been  discovered 
before  and  after  the  work  of  Father  Gumilla  by  Father  Manuel 
Roman,  of  the  Jfesuit  Company,  and  a  Missioner.  The  source 
of  the  Orinoco,  its  communication,  by  means  of  the  Casiquiari 
with  Rio  Negro,  and  the  Guaviari  river,  descending  from  the 
Province  of  Santa  Fe  and  receiving  the  waters  of  Timana  and 
Pasto,  in  the  Province  of  Popayan,  which  is  the  one  that 
Father  Gumilla  mistook  for  the  Orinoco,  will  be  seen  in  the 
general  map,  and  as  it  has  been  said  will  be  added  with  every 
detail  gathered  about  the  Orinoco  river,  its  tributaries,  during 
its  extensive  course,  and  those  that  are  navigable,  and  to  what 
extent,  with  marks  of  the  i)laces ;  having  very  little  more  to 
add  to  that  of  Father  Gumilla,  on  account  of  reliable  reports. 

Caroni  River. 
The  river  called  Caroni  enters  into  the  Orinoco  at  a  distance 
of  8  leagues  above  the  fortress  of  Guayana,  being  divided  in  two 
bodies,  forming  the  island  called  Caroni.  The  river  is  broad 
and  rapid,  but  is  not  navigable  on  account  of  the  strong  cur- 
rent and  numberless  rocks  and  islands  it  contains,  besides  a 
fall  near  the  Mission  of  Aguacaua;  its  waters  are  very  clear,, 
although  they  look  dark  and  turbid  on  account  of  the  black 


211 

sand  at  the  bottom  of  the  river,  brought  down  from  its  sources, 
the  course  of  which  is  not  known.  The  Caribs  say  that  it 
comes  from  mountains  close  to  those  covered  with  snow,  and 
the  same  furnisliingthe  lagoon  of  Parima  with  water,  as  sliown 
in  the  map,  and  from  the  ridge  of  mountains  traced  by  Father 
Gum  ilia. 

Aruy  River. 
At  about  24  leagues  from  the  Carooi,  the  river  called  Aruy 
empties  its  water.  It  is  not  as  broad  as  the  river  Caroni.  Its 
sources  are  not  well  known ;  the  Caribs,  however,  state  that 
they  are  at  about  50  leagues  distance,  in  some  mountains  less 
elevated  than  those  originating  the  Caroni.  Between  these 
two  rivers  there  are  a  great  many  Indians  located  on  plain 
and  mountainous  grounds,  but  all  very  pleasant. 

Caura  River . 
Fifty  leagues  above  the  Aruy  river  the  Caura  empties  its 
waters,  and  is  broader  and  more  important.  It  comes  through 
large  rocks,  preventing  the  navigation  to  all  vessels  above  the 
sizes  of  canoes  and  small  launches.  The  sources  of  this  river 
are  at  about  60  leagues  distance  from  its  mouth,  taking  its 
waters  from  the  elevated  sierras,  inhabited  by  many  Indians, 
who  are  harrassed  by  the  Caribs,  who  take  them  to  the  Hol- 
landers, making  prisoners  of  the  women  and  children  and 
exterminating  the  grown  people.  These  three  rivers  are  the 
greatest  and  best  known  of  those  in  the  neighborhood  of  Gua- 
yana  entering  the  Orinoco  River,  without  mentioning  the 
small  and  infinite  streams  of  the  Province  not  possessing  any 
importance. 

Gold  and  silver  mines. 

On  the  mountains  of  this  Province  the  existence  of  several 
gold  and  silver  mines  is  supposed,  but  none  in  actual  opera- 
tion nor  even  known  at  present.  It  is  thought  that  they  exist, 
according  to  the  Royal  Cedule  dated  at  Aranjuez  on  the  9th 
of  June,  1740,  registered  at  the  Accomptant  Office  of  Guayana, 
in  which  it  is  mentioned  that  in  time  of  Don  Carlos  de  Sucre, 
while  Governor  General  of  these  Provinces,  several  samples 


212 

were  sent  to  tlie  Court,  and  from  the  assays  it  was  ascertained 
that  there  was  very  fine  silver  in  one  of  the  samples,  and  the 
other  was  of  gold  of  twenty-one  carats,  and  His  Majesty  directs 
Governor  Don  Gregorio  de  Espinosa,  successor  to  Don  Carlos 
de  Sucre,  to  have  said  mines  surveyed,  and  report  the  pos- 
sibility of  enforcing  the  measures  proposed  by  the  Chief  As- 
sayer,  and  for  that  purpose  to  send  his  re[)ort  to  the  Viceroy 
of  Santa  Fe,  to  whom  instructions  liad  been  communicated. 
That  is  the  only  reference  obtained  about  those  mines,  no 
doubt  on  account  of  the  want  of  population  of  the  Province 
and  the  absolute  want  of  experts  for  this  kind  of  assays  and 
labors. 

Dutch  Colonies. — Esquivo. 
To  the  east,  on  the  coast  of  this  Province,  are  situated  the 
Dutch  Colonies  of  Esquivo,  Demerari,  Bervice,  Corentin,  and 
Surinam.  According  to  the  reports  obtained  by  Don  Juan  de 
Dios  Valdez,  Commander  of  the  fortress  of  Guayana,  a  person 
of  information  and  ability,  the  Esquivo  Colony  consists  of  sev- 
eral sugar-cane  plantations  that  the  Hollanders  have  planted 
for  a  distance  of  30  leagues  on  the  banks  of  the  Esquivo  River, 
be^innino-  from  its  moutli,  and  likewnse  several  islands  formed 
by  said  river  with  lands  fit  for  plantations.  The  greatest  part 
of  those  plantations  are  of  sugar-cane,  with  dwelling-houses  and 
grinding  mills  at  a  distance  of  about  two  or  three  leagues  from 
each  other. 

The  Esquivo  River,  and  continuation  of  details  of  the  Colony. 

The  Esquivo  river,  from  which  the  Colony  takes  its  name, 
at  its  entrance  into  the  sea  is  one  of  the  important  rivers  of 
America.  The  source  of  its  waters  is  to  the  south,  and  its  bed 
diminishes  in  proportion  to  its  approximation  to  said  source. 
It  is  navigated  l:)y  launches  for  a  distance  of  about  six  days' 
journey  ui)  the  place  whiM-e  its  waters  diminish  and  are  di- 
vided into  various  rapid  streams,  with  many  islands  amongst 
them;  and  up  to  the  present  time  there  is  no  Hollander  who 
has  ever  been  at  its  source,  and  the  only  report  they  hear  is 
from  the  Carib  Indians,  saying  that  its  sources  originate  from 


213 

the  great  lagoon  of  Parima.  This  river  receives  other  very  im- 
portant rivers,  especially  those  called  Mazeroni  and  Cuyuni,  that 
enter  together  into  the  Esquivo,  at  a  distance  of  8  to  10  leagues 
from  its  mouth,  the  reason  why  it  is  so  bulky,  when  it  reaches 
the  sea,  where  it  empties  its  waters  through  five  mouths,  and 
in  every  one  of  them  with  a  sufficient  channel  for  the  naviga- 
tion of  sloops  and  schooners,  but  not  of  larger  vessels.  In  two 
of  its  islands  formed  by  its  mouths  there  is  a  plantation  in 
each  one  of  them,  with  several  houses  for  negroes  and  Indians. 
Every  owner  has  a  group  of  those,  resembling  small  villages, 
and  the  same  ajDpearance  is  noticed  at  the  plantations  on  the 
river  banks.  On  the  third  island,  more  to  the  east,  they  have 
about  twelve  houses  erected  for  the  residence  of  the  Governor 
of  that  Colony,  the  Captain  of  the  troop,  and  the  Surgeon,  that 
of  the  Secretary,  minding  the  interests  of  the  Company,  two  or 
three  inns,  two  blacksmith  shops,  a  few  stores  and  lodgings 
for  the  negroes  of  the  Company,  besides  the  church  or  place 
of  worship.  This  small  number  of  houses  form  the  only  pop- 
ulation of  the  Colony.  On  the  highest  spot  of  the  island,  close 
to  the  house  of  the  Governor,  stands  the  fort,  Zeeland,  built 
upon  stakes  on  muddy  ground,  beaten  by  the  river  and  the 
sea  at  high  water,  a  reason  why  they  very  often  have  to  under- 
take new  repairs.  Besides  this  fort  there  is  a  horizontal  bat- 
tery on  the  level  of  the  water  of  both  river  and  sea,  with  twelve 
pieces  of  artillery  of  24-caliber.  It  is  commanded  within  the 
fort  Zeland.  The  garrison  of  these  fortifications  and  the  Col- 
ony consists  of  a  company  of  regular  soldiers,  in  all  70  men, 
40  of  whom  are  paid  by  the  Company  and  30  by  the  inhabi- 
tants. A  detachment  of  a  sergeant  and  30  men  is  sent  to  the 
garrison  of  the  small  fort  kept  at  the  mouth  of  the  Demerari 
River,  at  a  distance  of  5  leagues  from  the  Esequivo  along  the 
coast  to  the  east.  The  commander  is  a  subaltern  and  a  lieu- 
tenant of  the  Governor. 

Demerari  River. 
The  Demerari  river  does  not  go  far  inland  as  the  Esquivo 
does,  and  is  only  navigable  by  launches.     Its  banks  are  cov- 
ered with  plantations;    its  inhabitants  are  English  deserters 


1:11  1 

ami  dcliiKjUciits,  ija^'iug  triljulc  to  the  JIi>ll;iii<U'rs  for  the 
grounds  tliat  they  possess.  The  products  of  their  })hiiitations 
are  sugar,  coffee,  and  cotton.  They  iiaviuate  to  Europe  un- 
der the  same  formalities  tliat  the  liolhmders  of  tlie  Escjuivo 
river  do.  This  Colony  is  supported  from  Europe  with  two 
animal  shipments,  on  account  of  the  company  and  of  tlie  in- 
habitants, including  those  of  the  Demerari  river  who,  at 
their  own  risk,  send  the  products  of  their  plantations,  paying 
so  much  to  tlie  Company  as  the  owners  of  the  vessels,  carry- 
ing likewise  tl)e  })roducts  l)elonging  to  the  Com|)any  from 
their  own  ])lantations,  and  those  purchased  from  the  inhabit- 
ants not  willing  to  risk  ilieir  shipment  on  their  own  account, 
and  likewise  those  brought  from  the  Colonies  of  Bervice,  Cor- 
entin,  and  Surinam,  among  whicii  a  constant  trade  of  minor 
vessels  is  kept  gathering  these  products.  From  the  three 
Colonies  of  Bervice,  Corentin,  and  Surinam  tiiere  is  no  par- 
ticular knowledge,  and  ii  is  only  known  that  they  are  different 
from  that  of  JOscpiivo,  not  reached  in  the  map,  and  therefore 
it  is  omitted  to  refer  to  them  :  and  for  tlie  same  reason  nothing- 
will  be  said  of  Cayena,  belonging  to  the  I'^rencli. 

Injuries  occasioned  by  the  Dutcli  Colonies,  especial hj  that  of 
Esquivo,  in  the  Province  of  Guaijana. 

The  Dutch  Colonies  are  very  injurious  to  the  Province  of 
Guayana,  especially  that  of  l*]s(|uivo,  as  the  nearest  to  tlie 
Orinuco  river. 

They  go  by  this  river  and  tliose  oi'  Mazaroni  and  Cuyuni, 
protected  by  the  Carib  Indians,  pillaging  and  capturing  the 
Indians  that  are  not  Caribs,  from  this  Province,  and  reducing 
them  to  slavery,  in  the  same  way  as  they  do  with  the  negroes, 
and  sell  them  and  employ  them  in  their  plantations  and 
farms.  In  order  to  seize  them  they  employ  every  device  that 
tyranny  and  avarice  can  suggest,  k(;eping  in  close  friendship 
Avith  the  Caribs,  a  ferocious  and  warlike  tribe  overruning 
all  this  extensive  Province  and  part  of  those  of  Barcelona, 
Caracas,  and  Santa  Ee,  in  persecution  of  other  Indians,  on 
whom  the  Caribs  hold  control,  on  account  of  their  peaceful 
and   gentle  character,  being  continually   assaulted  in   their 


215 

ranches  or  grouiuls;  the  old  Indians  urc  killed  and  the  3'oung 
and  the  women  captured  to  be  reduced  to  shivery.  These 
incursions  disturb  very  frequently  the  Mission  of  the  Reverend 
Catalan  Capuchin  Fathers,  not  quite  so  well  establislied,  en- 
ticing away  their  Indians  who  take  to  the  woods  at  the  least 
news  of  the  approach  of  the  Caribs,  in  spite  of  all  steps  taken 
by  the  Missioners  to  stop  them,  in  consequence  of  their 
cowardly  and  pusilanimous  disposition,  which  may  sometimes 
he  overcome  by  the  presence  of  Spanish  escorts  in  the  settle- 
ment to  which  they  resort  for  protection  and  defence.  The 
native  Hollanders  of  those  Colonies  who  accompany  the  Caribs, 
teach  them  how  to  manage  the  arms,  and  they  are  even  more 
inhuman  than  the  Caribs  themselves,  so  that  a  close  watch  is 
necessary  to  stop  them  and  defend  the  Missions  which  they 
procure  to  destroy  in  order  to  remove  that  obstacle  from  their 
Colonies,  as  shown  in  the  map. 

Settlements  of  the  Guayana  Province. 
All  this  extensive  Province  contains  no  more  Spanish  settle- 
ment than  the  fortress,  known  under  the  name  of  the  City  of 
.Santo  Thome  de  la  Guayana,  for  although  the  Chief  of  squad- 
ron, Don  Joseph  de  Iturriaga,  tried  to  establish  the  cities  of 
Real  Corona  and  Ciudad  Real,  neither  the  one  nor  the  other 
has  been  successful,  as  will  be  explained,  but  there  are  16  set- 
tlements of  Missions  under  the  Reverend  Catalan  Capuchin 
Fathers,  four  settlements  likewise  of  Missions  under  the  Rev- 
erend Jesuit  Fathers,  and  three  more  under  the  Reverend  Fran- 
ciscan Fathers  and  Missioners  of  Piritu,  as  it  will  be  seen  in 
the  following  two  notes. 

City  of  Santo  Thome  or  Fortress  of  Guayana — Note  9. 
Details  are  given  of  the  fortress  of  Guayana,  its  fortifications, 
the  troop  and  garrison,  the  salaries  of  the  troop  and  the  Royal 
Treasury  where  to  collect  them,  the  militia,  the  neighborhood, 
the  families,  the  stores  contained,  the  plantations  possessed,  the 
Church,  the  Pastor,  the  want  of  a  Minister  for  the  administra- 
tion of  justice  in  ordinary  cases,  and  what  the  settlements  are 
that  bear  the  names  of  Cities  of  Real  Corona  and  Ciudad  Real. 


210 

After  having  said  wliat  little  is  generally  known  of  the  ex- 
tensive Province  of  Guayana,  it  remains  to  explain  in  par- 
ticular what  those  settlements  are,  as  it  has  been  done  with 
those  of  the  Provinces  of  Cumana  and  Barcelona. 

Fortress  of  Guayana. 

The  fortress  or  the  city  of  Santo  Thome  de  (Juayana  is  sit- 
uated at  8°  and  17'  north  latitude  and  314°  (sic)  17'  longitude. 
It  is  the  capital  and  only  township  of  all  this  unknow^n 
Province,  its  tempLTature  is  warm  and  dani}),  and  very  un- 
healthy. The  ground  is  not  fertile,  on  account  of  being  sandy^ 
it  is  situated  on  the  bank  of  the  Orinoco  river,  at  its  narrowest 
point,  and  close  to  the  first  mouths  or  islands  dividing  the 
river.  Its  breadth  from  the  fortifications  of  the  city  to  the 
opposite  part  of  the  river  is  liardly  witliin  range  of  a  24- 
poundcr,  and  its  bottom  is  from  70  to  80  fathoms. 

Fortifications  of  the  Castle  of  San  Francisco. 

Upon  the  same  bank  and  in  a  quasi  horizontal  position  witlt 
the  water  line  is  the  Castle  of  San  Francisco  de  Asis,  its  irreg- 
ular figure,  with  the  greatest  front  to  the  river.  To  the  east 
it  has  another  small  front,  but  so  low  that  it  may  be  scaled 
with  great  facility.  The  front  towards  the  south  is  defended 
by  a  great  lagoon  at  its  rear ;  on  that  front  there  are  a  few 
short  compartments  for  stores,  headc{uarters,  and  the  guard 
for  the  troop.  The  front  towards  the  west  is  where  the  gate  is 
located,  and  all  its  work  is  of  stone  and  mortar.  At  a  small 
expense  it  may  be  improved  and  secure  this  fortification,  but 
it  is  not  to  be  relied  upon  if  the  Padrastro  mountain  is  not 
fortified,  as  it  will  be  explained.  The  cannons  and  their  cali- 
ber, balls  and  powder  contained  in  this  Castle  may  be  found 
in  the  statement  corresponding  to  the  same,  in  the  map  Avhere 
six  small  guns  are  included,  a  little  more  than  swivel  guns,, 
that  are  placed  on  the  Padrastro  or  Castle  of  San  Diego,  as  it 
will  be  explained ;  the  other  utensils  exist  in  the  Castle  of  San 
Francisco,  and  are  described  in  the  first  part  of  the  Acts  of 
Visits,  as  also  those  of  this  fortress,  at  folios  229  to  298. 


217 

Fort  San  Diego  or  Padrastro. 

Besides  the  Castle  of  San  Francisco  there  is  another  called 
San  Diego  or  Padrastro.  It  is  situated  upon  a  rocky  mountain 
which  dominates  the  fortification  of  San  Francisco  and  at  such 
a  short  distance  as  to  be  within  the  range  of  a  musket  shot. 
Said  mountain  is  really  the  spot  that  ought  to  be  fortified,  as 
it  is  only  in  name  called  Castle  of  San  Diego,  which  is  but  a 
small  tower  of  four  eqnal  fronts  built  of  stone  and  mortar,  and 
its  parapets  of  mud  and  adobe.  It  has  six  swivel  guns  mounted,, 
that  can  hardly  be  played  within  the  short  space  they  occupy, 
and  besides  what  has  been  said  it  is  so  low  that  a  man  with 
a  very  little  help  from  another  man  may  penetrate  into  it, 
without  the  least  difficulty,  so  that  by  no  means  can  it  de- 
serve the  name  of  Castle  or  fortification,  being  really  the  ad- 
vantageous and  only  spot  of  all  the  river  that  may  be  fortified 
with  safety  and  a  little  less  than  Angostura,  being  the  two 
places  where  the  river  may  be  rendered  impassable.  In  the 
rear  of  this  mountain,  upon  which  the  Padrastro  stands,  there 
is  a  large  lagoon  similar  to  the  one  defending  the  Castle  of 
San  Francisco,  and  it  is  not  easy  to  drain  it.  The  two  lagoons 
around  contribute  to  the  unhealthiness  of  the  population 
settled  to  the  south  of  the  lagoon  of  the  Padrastro  and  within 
a  short  range  of  the  same. 

San  Fernando. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  fortress,  and  in  the  creek  called 
Limones,  is  situated  the  fort  named  San  Fernando,  in  the 
shape  of  a  round  tower,  still  in  course  of  construction,  for  the 
reasons  explained  to  His  Majesty,  under  date  of  the  23d  of 
September,  1761,  being  built  of  lime  and  brick  material.  This 
fortification  deserves  the  close  attention  of  that  of  Padrastro, 
with  tlie  diff'erence  that  this  one  must  be  fortified  very  well, 
and  the  other  abandoned  altogether. 

Troop  for  the  garrison  of  these  fortifications  and  place  where  to  he 

paid. 
In  this   fortress    in    charge  of  the  custody,   of  which  His- 
Majesty  keeps  a  captain   commander,  a  lieutenant,  two  sub- 


218 

lieuteiiaiits,  a  constable,  a  diajilaiii.  two  serp;eants  of  fusileers, 
two  cor[)orals,  12  artillerymen,  a  drnniiner  and  77  soldiers, 
among  whom  there  are  a  very  few  white  |)ersons,  most  of  them 
are  mnlattoes,  mustees  and  negroes,  who  stand  better  that  in- 
salubrious elimate.  Tlie  salaries  paiil  annually  to  these  per- 
sons are  found  in  the  corresponding  statement  of  the  map.  and 
likewise  the  total  amount  of  Sl3.i)il4  paid  out  of  §14,000  that 
His  Majesty  has  assigned  for  this  })ayment  from  the  Royal 
Treasury  of  Santa  Fe.  Said  fund  is  collected  by  an  officer 
sent  every  year  for  that  purpose  and  bringing  the  same  to  the 
fortress,  at  the  expense  of  the  garrison,  to  the  amount  of  S1,000, 
paid  as  explained  in  note  7. 

This  officer  undertakes  the  journey  through  the  Orinoco 
river  u})  to  the  confluence  of  the  Meta,  continuing  the  navi- 
gation through  it  for  half  the  distance  shown  by  tlic  map.  and 
thence  going  by  land  sixteen  or  eighteen  days  through  the 
roughest  mountains  up  to  tlie  ca])ital  of  Santa  Fe.  The  in- 
crease of  this  garrison  is  indis[)ensable  on  account  of  the  rea- 
sons laid  before  His  Majesty  in  my  representation  of  the  27th 
of  August,  while  dealing  with  the  subject  of  the  demolition  of 
the  Castle  of  Araya,  besides  those  that  will  be  exposed  in  the 
following  note. 

Jfi/itia. 

Besides  the  regular  paid  troop,  all  the  residents  are  enlisted 
in  a  company  of  58  militiamen,  including  officers,  as  may  be 
seen  in  the  corresponding  statement  of  the  ma}).  These  militia- 
men do  all  the  woi'k  of  the  government,  as  the  regular  troop 
is  detatched  to  escort  the  Mission  of  the  Reverend  Catalan 
Cai)uchins,  in  order  to  stop  the  frequent  Indian  incursions 
that  take  jdace. 

NcKihUovJiooil. —  Fd  III  i/irs. —  III  lid/iitiiiils. — Slaves. — Houses. 

The  reports  of  the  gencrnl  \isit  of  this  fortress  already  men- 
tioned at  folios  229  to  29.S  sh(»w  an  existence  of  90  families, 
including  those  of  the  regular  troop,  in  all  535  souls,  includ- 
ing in  that  number  113  slaves.  They  inhabit  66  very  reduced 
houses   built  on  sandv  ground,  which,  together  with   the  con- 


219 

tiiiual  rains,  the  heat  and  the  vicinity  of  the  lagoons,  makes 
the  cHmate  very  insaUiljrious  and  insufterahle  to  all  tliose  that 
are  not  natives,  except  the  negroes,  niulattoes,  and  mustees, 
who  stand  better  its  effects,  and  some  of  them  become  cor- 
pulent. 

Plantations. 

The  inhabitants  possess  20  plantations,  some  of  them  of 
.sugar  cane  and  some  corn  fields,  besides  a  few  herds  of  bovine 
cattle,  containing  about  1,800  heads  of  all  kinds. 

ChurcJt. — Pastor. 

There  is  only  one  parochiul  cliurcli  in  the  city,  straw 
roofed,  on  heavy  timbers  and  mud  walls,  attended  bv  the 
chaplain  of  the  troop,  who  is  a  Reverend  Capuchin  of  the 
Catalan  Mission,  drawing  the  salary  of  the  chaplain,  and  the 
.small  parochial  fees  to  whom  a  fourth  of  the  tithes  collected 
belong,  reaching  in  a  few  years  over  S30 ;  and  the  alms  of  the 
residents  and  troops  are  dedicated  to  keep  the  church. 

Want  of  an    Ordinarti  Justice. 

There  is  no  common  council  nor  ordinary  justices  in  the 
city.  The  military  commander  refused  to  entertain  those 
•cases,  on  account  of  the  large  expenses  the}'  entail,  and  only 
attends  to  those  within  his  jurisdiction  or  w  commissicn  from 
.the  Governor,  before  whom  the  parties  appear  first. 

Cities  of  Real  Corona  and   Ciudad  Peal. 

The  chief  of  Squadron,  Don  Joseph  de  Iturriaga,  in  virtue 
•of  his  powers  undertook  the  establishment  of  two  settlements, 
under  the  name  of  Real  Corona  and  Ciudad  Real,  for  which 
he  congregated  several  persons  dispersed  on  the  banks  of  the 
■Orinoco  and  the  Provinces  of  Caracas,  Barcelona,  and  even 
from  the  Island  of  Margarita,  who  were  supported  for  some  time 
at  the  expense  of  the  Royal  Treasury,  but  after  the  withdrawal 
of  that  support  they  recrossed  the  river  and  returned  to  their 
old  places,  notwitlistanding  that  the  Chief  remained  still  in 
Ciudad  Real  with  several  families  and  clerks  attached  to  his 
•expedition.     It  will  disappear  entirely  when   the  Chief  quits 


220 

it,  on  account  of  the  insuperable  difficulties  experienced  in 
places  so  far  away  from  all  human  help,  without  any  interest  to- 
attract  inhabitants,  even  if  they  were  protected  against  the 
continuous  assaults  by  the  Indians,  so  that  they  can  not  be 
considered  as  settlements  of  this  Province. 


Missions  of  the  Reverend  ratalan  Capucliin  Fathers;  of  the 
Reverend  Fathers  of  the  Company  of  Jesns;  and  of  tlie 
Reverend  Franciscan  Observant  Fathers— Note  1 0. 

The  Catalan  Ca[)uchin  Alissioners — Beginning  of  their  Mis- 
sions— First  settlement  is  established  by  them — Sixteen 
settlements  existing — ]\Ien  of  arms — Families — Souls — 
Houses — Churches — Land  occupied — Education  of  the 
Indians — Number  of  Reverend  Fatliers — Alms  allowed 
them — Their  cattle  estate — Tiie  importance  of  these  Mis- 
sions— Those  of  the  Jesuits — Father  Observants  of  Piritu 
in  this  Province — Those  three  bodies  spreading  the  Gospel 
in  the  Province. 

Bodies  of  Missiouers  Spreading  the  Gospel  in  Guayand. 

Three  bodies  of  Missioners  spread  the  Gospel  in  this  Pro- 
vince of  Guayana.  They  belong  to  different  orders,  to  wit : 
The  Reverend  Catalan  Capuchin  Fathers;  the  Reverend  Fa- 
ther Jesuits  of  the  Province  of  Santa  Fe,  and  the  Reverend 
Observant  Fathers  of  Piritu,  under  whom  are  the  Missions 
and  ecclesiastical  settlements  of  the  Province  of  Barcelona,  as 
heretofore  explained. 

These  three  bodies  of  Alissioners  and  the  settlements  under 
their  charge,  as  well  as  the  progress  obtained,  will  be  the  sub- 
ject of  a  separate  note. 

Catalan  CapucJiin  Jfissioncrs. 
The  Capuchins  of  the  Catalan  Kingdom  keep  in  this  Prov- 
ince a  community  of  Missioners,  who  at  the  expense  of  the 
Royal  Treasury  were  transported  from  their  Province,  until  in- 
corporated in  this  Mission;  all  those  existing  in  it  appoint  their 
Prelate  every  three  years,  under  the  name  of  Prefect,  but  neither 


221 

the  community  nor  the  Prefect  are  subordinated  to  the  Prov- 
incial Prelate  of  the  Catalau  kingdom,  but  to  that  of  the 
Province  of  Andalusia,  their  only  Superior  Prelate.  This 
community  performs  the  duties  of  their  ministry  with  wonder- 
ful diligence,  good  order,  and  success,  without  sparing  labors, 
and  due  to  these  circumstances  are  the  happy  progresses 
accomplished  by  the  Missions  in  their  charge. 

Beginning  of  tJte  3Iissions. 
They  were  established  in  the  year  1724,  notwithstanding 
that  other  Missioners  had  undertaken  the  same  work  before. 
This  conclusion  is  derived  from  the  contents  of  a  book  of  bap- 
tisms, showing  that  from  the  year  16G4  several  other  Priests  at 
different  times  had  tried  the  pacification  and  reduction  of  these 
Indians,  such  as  Father  Joseph  Sanpayo,  a  Reverend  Father 
of  the  Dominican  order,  and  Father  Manuel  de  la  Purification, 
of  the  Bare-footed  order  (descalzos)  of  Saint  Augustine;  the 
Clergymen  Don  Francisco  de  Rojas,  Don  Miguel  de  Angulo, 
Don  Joseph  de  Figueroa,  and  the  ration  canon  Don  Andres 
Fernandez ;  the  Father  Jesuit  Juan  de  Yergara,  Dionisio 
Mestand,  Francisco  de  E.  Mauri  and  Ignacio  Cano,  the  Catalan 
Capuchin  Father  Angel  de  Mataro  and  Father  Pablo  de 
Blanes,  the  Capauchins  and  others.  The  Fathers  of  the  Com- 
pany made  an  assignment  of  said  Missions,  and  the  act  was 
authorized  by  the  Governor  of  Trinidad,  Don  Tiburcio  de 
Harpe  y  Zuniga,  in  the  year  1681,  as  shown  by  the  Royal 
Cedule  of  the  7th  of  February,  1668,  and  the  29th  of  April, 
1687,  by  which  His  Majesty  approves  the  assignment  made  by 
the  Jesuits,  and  sends  the  Catalan  Capuchin  Fathers  to  attend 
the  Missions  of  the  Province  of  Guayana.  These  two  Cedules 
are  kept  in  the  Archives  of  the  Community.  From  said  year 
1687  they  took  charge  of  the  Missions  and  commenced  their 
work,  but  the  miseries  and  deaths,  without  any  help  in  their 
wants,  were  so  discouraging,  having  nobody  to  replace  those 
who  died,  many  long  interruptions  of  the  Apostolic  ministry 
followed,  losing  at  the  same  time  whatever  advancement  had 
been  made  previously  for  the  good  of  the  souls  and  the  pacifi- 
xiction  of  the  natives. 


•222 

111  the  yoar  1723  tlic  Mission  of  (Jiiayana  was  in  want  of 
Fatlier  Missioners  and  witliont  means  to  bring  the  few  that 
might  liave  l)een  obtained,  for  want  of  provisions  and  the  nec- 
essary ah  us  for  their  supj^ort:  but  (hiring  that  year  several 
pions  persons,  especially  the  Missioiiers  ol  Piritu,  gave  and 
facilitated  the  transportation  oi'  100  head  of  eattle,  which  have 
kept  on  the  increase  and  are  to-day  the  support  of  the  Missions 
in  all  the  extreme  necessities  of  the  Indians,  for  want  of  meat, 
whenever  they  were  to  be  attracted  to  the  townships,  as  this 
element  is  an  inducement  securing  exemption  from  famine 
and  want. 

First  Settlement  in  1724-. 

U}ton  this  basis,  in  1724,  the  first  Mission  was  founde(l,  under 
the  name  of  Concepcion  de  Suay,  two  leagues  inland  from  the 
City  of  Guayana,  and  to-day  they  have  planted  16,  as  it  will  be 
shown,  going  inhind  about  40  leagues  to  the  south  of  said  city, 
situated  at  that  distance  from  the  Mission  of  Avechica,  as  it  is 
shown  in  the  map. 

Besides  the  16  Missions  existing,  8  previously  settled  have- 
been  lost,  on  account  of  the  misfortunes  of  the  pestilence  of  small- 
pox and  measles,  besides  the  invasions  of  the  Caribs,  the  ho.stili- 
ties  of  the  English  in  the  year  1740,  with  tbe  loss  of  over  1,000- 
Indians,  several  settlements  and  tlieir  furuiture,  having  proved 
a  dreadful  drawback  aggravated  b}'  the  want  of  i)aymentof  the 
alms  assigned  by  Ilis  Majesty  to  these  Missioners  from  the  Treas- 
ury at  Caracas,  and  the  indifferent  help  afforded  by  the  escorts 
in  charge  of  the  custody  of  the  settlements  to  stop  the  invasions 
of  the  Caribs  and  restore  order  in  the  population  occasionally 
disturbed  by  intoxications.  Although  part  of  the  garrison  from 
the  fortress  is  detached  for  that  service  it  is  not  sufKcient,  as 
25  to  30  more  men  ought  to  be  ready  to  meet  these  contin- 
gencies whenever  they  happen.  Tweuty-five  or  30  men  not 
always  can  be  detached  froiu  the  fortress,  where  there  is  very 
often  no  more  than  the  recjuired  number  for  its  custody.  From 
that  of  Araya  it  is  im[)ossible,  on  account  of  the  distance  of  200- 
leagues,  aside  the  other  reasons  submitted  to  His  Majesty  by 
my  representations  of  the  27th  of  August,  1761,  in  reference- 


223 

to  its  demolition  as  useless,  not  being  of  less  imjiortaiice  the 
consideration  of  the  isolation  of  all  the  Missions,  where  notli- 
ing  is  found  of  the  necessaries  and  conveniences  of  iiumaii  life, 
nor  any  one  ready  to  sup{)ly  tliis  want  at  any  cost,  and  Cor  that 
reason  the  same  Missioners,  with  the  poor  help  of  the  Indians, 
are  the  masons,  carpenters,  and  mechanics  of  other  trades  for 
the  formation  of  the  settlements  and  the  works  required  for 
the  same  purpose,  except  churches,  which  are  not  so  easily 
built,  and  for  which  bells,  ornaments,  and  other  furniture  are 
needed,  without  the  means  to  buy  them,  and  for  that. reason 
only  three  of  the  settlements  have  churches. 

The  Sixteen  Existing  Mission  Settlements. 
The  16  Missions  established  at  present  are  those  of  Capapui, 
Altagracia,  Suay,  Amaruca,  Caroni,  Arepuco,  Aguacagua, 
Murucuri,  San  Joseph  de  Leonisa,  Guarimna,  Carapu,  Miamo, 
Guasipati,  Palmar,  Avechica,  and  Piacoa,  as  shown  in  the  map, 
in  the  corresponding  statement  of  the  men  of  arms,  families, 
souls,  houses,  and  churches  existing  in  every  one  of  the  said 
16  settlements. 

Men  of  Arms,  Families,  and  Souls. 
One  thousand  and  eighty-one  men  of  arms  ;  1,031  families; 
4,392  souls  ;  408  houses  ;  and  three  churches. 

Lands  of  the  Missions. 
These  Missions  are  most  of  tliem  situated  in  very  fertile  lands, 
fresh,  salubrious,  abounding  in  water  and  well  provided  of  all 
the  necessary  products  fit  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Indians, 
except  those  of  Suay,  Arepuco,  Caroni,  and  Piacoa,  that  are  not 
salubrious  nor  abundant  in  eatables  on  account  of  their  prox- 
imity to  the  Orinoco  river  and  sandy  ground.  The  liouses  of 
all  the  settlements  are  built  with  symmetry  in  extension  and 
sufficiently  convenient  for  the  Indians.  The  three  churches, 
although  poor,  are  very  clean  and  capacious,  the  same  as  the 
house  of  the  pa.stor  close  to  the  church.  Near  the  parson's 
house  there  is  a  sort  of  tower  built  of  timber  and  mud,  covered 
with  straw,  where  they  keep   two  or  three   swivel  guns.     The 


224 

tower,  house,  and  cliureh  are  defended  by  a  round  fence  of 
stakes  so  as  to  take  care  of  the  Caribs  if  they  do  not  come  in 
company  with  the  HoHanders,  for  whom  the  swivel  guns,  if 
there  are  experts  in  the  poi»uhition  to  handle  them,  the  noise 
alone  may  impose  fear  on  the  Caribs,  wiio  would  not  dare  to 
reach  the  settlement  and  much  less  the  palisade  defended  l)y 
the  tower,  where  the  women  and  childri'n  and  even  the  Indians 
take  refuge,  in  case  that  the  enemy's  forces  are  superior  and 
do  not  allow  sufficient  time  for  the  use  of  arrows  in  their 
defence. 

Education  of  the  Indians. 
The  education  of  the  Indians  is  not  the  same  in  all  the 
settlements  ;  in  some  of  them  they  are  not  all  ba])tiz<,Ml,  when 
just  taken  out  of  the  woods,  incapable  of  a  Christian  education, 
and  only  in  cases  of  need  they  are  baptized,  but  this  sacrament 
is  administered  to  all  their  children  born  in  the  settlement  and 
the  infants  arriving  from  the  woods.  Other  Indians  are  already 
Christians,  but  without  having  forgotten  the  crowd  of  vices  so 
common  with  them,  and  both  sexes  remaining  naked,  out  of 
their  natural  rusticity  and  habit,  as  well  as  the  impossibility  to 
pay  for  clothing.  The  Fathers  try  their  best  to  i)rovide  them 
with  iron  utensils  for  the  cultivation  of  their  fields.  In  four  or 
five  of  the  oldest  settlements  they  are  dressed,  in  keeping  with 
the  good  government  of  the  Missioners,  who  gather  with  the 
greatest  care  and  keep  an  account  of  the  casave,  superabundant 
with  them,  send  it  to  the  city  of  Guayana  where  there  is  a  de- 
mand, and  out  of  the  proceeds  buy  clothing  for  tiie  [)eoi)le  in 
return  for  their  casaves.  This  recourse  is  not  available  with 
those  who  are  at  a  greater  distance  from  tiie  fortress,  on 
account  of  the  cost  of  transportation  wiping  out  any  possibility  of 
profit.  The  Indians  of  these  five  settlements  are  well  instructed 
in  the  Christian  doctrine  and  sufficiently  conversant  with  the 
Oastillian  language.  Many  of  them  learn  music  and  play  sev- 
eral instruments  skilfully,  and  most  of  them  are  api)lied  to  the 
service  of  the  Church,  wliere  the  solemn  functions  are  carried 
out  with  really  edifying  ceremonies.  Indeed,  all  these  Missions 
are  })roportionally  well  established,  and  governed  with  very 


225 

particular  harmony,  economy  and  education,  so  that  in  the 
visit  of  the  same  I  had  nothing  to  observe  that  was  not  highly 
laudable,  a  reason  why,  in  the  name  of  the  King  our  Lord,  the 
government  rendered  thanks  to  the  community,  encouraging 
them  in  the  continuation  of  their  holy  ministry,  as  it  is  shown 
in  part  third  of  the  acts  of  the  visit  to  said  Missions. 

Reverend  Fathers  present  at  the  time  of  the  visit. 
The  fourteen  Reverend  Fathers  and  one  layman,  making 
in  all  fifteen,  were  present  at  the  time  of  the  visit.  The  lay- 
man attends  to  the  sick,  and  this  number  is  very  limited,  con- 
sidering the  amount  of  work  they  have  to  perform  taking  care 
of  the  settlement  and  new  conversions  for  new  establishments. 

Alms  assigned  to  each  3Iission. 
To  every  Missioner  His  Majesty  has  assigned,  by  way  of 
alms,  $150  a  year,  drawn  on  the  Royal  Treasury  of  Caracas, 
where  the  present  arrears  to  the  Community  amount  to  ($32,- 
000)  thirty-two  thousand  dollars,  according  to  a  certificate 
given  by  the  Prefect  and  shown  in  the  third  part  of  the  acts. 
This  delay  in  the  payment  of  these  alms  has  been  felt  and  is 
felt,  bringing  about  extreme  want  to  the  Reverend  Fathers. 

Cattle  estate  of  the  Missions. 
The  same  certificate  shows  that  the  cattle  estate  of  the 
Community  contains  from  14,000  to  16,000  head  of  bovine 
cattle  for  the  maintenance  of  the  settlements  and  the  Mis- 
sioners.  The  cattle  has  been  placed  on  new  grounds  in  pro- 
portion of  its  increase,  and  to-day  it  is  kept  in  the  Mission  of 
Guarina,  where  the  fields  and  mountains  are  most  abundant 
in  grass  and  w^ater,  in  a  cool  climate.  On  account  of  these 
circumstances,  the  multiplication  of  the  cattle  has  been  in- 
credible. 

High  convenience  of  the  expected  help  to  this  Commimity. 

If  His  Majesty  kindly  assigns  the  payment  of  these  alms 

to  the  Missioners  at  a  Royal  Treasury's  Office,  where  they  do 

effectively  pay,  enough  to  maintain  25  or  30  Fathers,  allowing 

this  Mission  the  bells  and  ornaments  established  by  law,  and 

Vol.  1,  Ven. — 15, 


226 

an  escort  of  25  to  30  men,  in  a  very  few  years  a  great  increase 
should  be  noticed  and  many  more,  if  as  tlic  community  de- 
sires, His  Majesty  applies  similar  alms  for  six  or  eight  lay 
Brothers,  good  carpenters,  masons,  blacksmiths,  and  weavers, 
so  as  to  teach  these  trades  to  the  Indians,  especially  weavers, 
of  which  they  might  avail  themselves  for  the  use  of  the  large 
amount  of  cotton  wliich  they  may  gaLlicr,  and  is  not  fully 
used  in  the  manufacture  of  hammocks  done  by  the  Indians, 
and  taking  a  long  time  and  lal)or  for  want  of  instruments. 

These  Missions  arc  most  imj)ort'nit  to  the  service  of  God 
and  the  King.  Besides  the  spiritual  advantage  obtained  by 
the  natives,  they  help  the  fortress  of  Guayana  with  their 
provisions  and  interposition  between  the  same  and  the  Hol- 
landers, who  by  all  means  endeavor  to  enter  inland  in  this 
Province  and  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  the  key  to  these 
dominions — upon  the  subject  of  which  the  necessary  reports 
are  sent  to  His  Majesty. 

Jesuit  3Iisslo)iers  from  the  Province  of  Santa  Fe. 
In  charge  of  the  Reverend  Jesuit  Fathers  of  the  Kingdom 
of  Santa  Fe  are  the  Missions  established  on  the  Meta  and 
Casanare  Rivers,  shown  in  the  njap.  These  Missions  belong  to 
the  Government  of  Santa  Fe,  excepting  four  of  them  which 
are  established  at  the  south  of  the  Orinoco  river,  to  wit: 

Settlements  of  the  JcMiits  in  Guayana. 

Encaramada,  Uruana,  Cariclianti,  and  Randal  belong  to  teh 
Province  of  Guayana,  although  tlie}^  have  been  established 
and  reared  by  the  Jesuit  Fathers.  The  four  settlements  are 
very  poorly  situated,  on  account  of  the  sandy  ground  and  little 
fertility  of  the  banks  of  the  Orinoco,  and  on  account  of  its 
proximity  they  are  not  salubrious;  but  the  necessity  of  tem- 
porizing with  the  Indians  who  are  settled  in  them  does  not 
allow,  for  the  present,  anything  better. 

The  distance  of  these  settlements  from  the  communication 
and  treatment  of  the  Spaniards  keep  them  totally  ignorant  of 
the  Castillian  language,  but  they  are  in  every  thing  else  well 
instructed  with  that  profusion  of  the  Missioners,  as  far  as  per- 
mitted by  the  recent  date  of  these  four  Missions. 


227 

Me7i  of  Arms — Souls — Houses — Churches. 

The  statements  presented  at  the  time  of  the  visit  by  Fatlier 
Manuel  Roman,  their  Superior,  and  the  other  acts  of  the  visit 
found  in  the  third  part  of  said  acts  are  those  concerned  with 
this  Mission,  folios  71  to  7i),  and  show  that  the  four  Missions 
contain  1(30  men  of  arms,  l,-423  souls,  61  houses,  four  churciies, 
and  their  ornaments.  It  shows  the  good  order  of  the  settle- 
ments, the  time  of  their  foundation,  and  the  method  for  the 
instruction  of  the  Indians. 

In  every  one  of  these^ settlements  there  is  a  Reverend  Mis- 
sioner  whom  the  corresponding  alms  are  paid  by  the  Treasury 
of  Santa  Fe,  as  well  as  to  the  other  officers  of  the  Meta  and 
Casanare  rivers,  and  the  escort  for  the  custody  of  these  Mis- 
sions, who  guard  likewise  the  four  settlements  of  Guayana. 
The  escort  consists  of  48  men  and  one  captain,  to  whom  the 
salary  of  $995  is  paid  annually,  and  each  soldier  $130,  paid 
from  the  Royal  Treasury  of  Santa  Fe.  The  progress  of  the 
Jesuits  in  the  Province  of  Guayana  was  very  slow,  considering 
the  many  Indians  whom  they  have  to  reduce  and  pacify  around 
the  Meta  and  Casanare  rivers  and  neighboring  countries,  and 
it  was  difficult  for  them  to  go  far  inland  in  the  Province  of 
Guayana,  where  most  of  the  Indians  are  found,  and  not  on 
the  banks  of  the  Orinoco  river,  that  are  very  sickly  and  unin- 
liabitable,  and  their  lands  hardly  fit  for  populations  ;  but  there 
is  no  possibility  of  going  further  inland  without  establishing 
first  a  few  settlements  on  each  bank.  Those  on  either  side  of 
the  Orinoco  river  are  rather  watching  places  for  the  protection 
of  the  Meta  Missions  from  the  assaults  of  the  Caribs  navigating 
the  Orinoco,  and  not  for  the  purpose  of  going  farther  inland 
in  the  Province  of  Guayana. 

Missions  of  tlie  Observant  Fathers  of  Piritu. 
All  tlie  ecclesiastical  establishments  and  missionsof  theProv- 
inceof  Barcelona  aremnderthe  Reverened  Father  Observanisof 
Piritu,  as  stated  in  note  7,  but  having  no  longer  any  more  Indians 
to  reduce  and  pacify  in  said  Province,  as  they  are  all  settled, 
as  has  been  likewise  explained  in  the  above-mentioned  note, 
they  went  over  the  Orinoco  river  and  settled  the  place  called 


228 

Muitaco,  within  the  I'rovinee  of  (iuayaiia,  i>uihliiijj,'  a  lodging 
house,  and  then  established  the  settlements  eallcd  Platanar, 
Atapidere,  and  Guazapairo.  These  three  settlements  are  com- 
prised in  the  seventeen  of  the  Mission  of  the  Province  of  Bar- 
celona in  the  acts  of  the  visit,  and  the  statement  of  the  map, 
where  there  is  a  brief  description  of  the  number  of  souls  con- 
tained in  each  one.  They  are  almost  abandoned  by  the  Mis- 
sioners,  on  account  of  the  want  of  }>ersons  to  send  to  the  I'nj- 
vince  of  Guayana  for  the  j)ur|>ose,  without  being  missed  in 
that  of  Barcelona,  for  which  there  are  not  enough  persons,  and 
even  if  it  were  easy  to  employ  them  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Orinoco,  the}'  have  no  means  of  subsistence  except  what  is 
impossible  of  collection  from  the  Royal  Treasury,  on  account 
of  alms  assigned  to  these  Missioners,  the  arrears  of  which 
amount  at  present  to  $31,605  (thirty-one  thousand  six  hundred 
and  five  dollars).  If  these  alms  were  paid,  an  escort  granted 
as  requested  from  His  Majesty  under  date  of  the  27th  of  Au- 
gust, 1761,  exjilaining  the  inutility  of  the  Castle  of  Araya,  there 
is  no  doubt  that  this  body  of  Missioners  might  work  with  more 
utility  than  shown  at  present,  as  it  has  been  reported  to  His- 
Majesty  in  a  separate  representation. 

Pending  His  Majesty's  decision  in  regard  to  the  escort,  12 
men  are  detached  from  the  garrison  of  Cum  ana,  so  as  to  pre- 
vent the  loss  of  those  three  settlements;  but  being  60  or  70 
leagues  far  away,  the  continuation  of  this  detachment  is  not 
possible  without  serious  difficulties  stated  in  the  representa- 
tion already  mentioned  of  the  27th  of  August. 

If  this  community,  with  a  like  conduct,  charity  and  effi- 
ciency similar  to  that  of  the  Reverend  Catalan  Capuchin 
Fathers,  should  work  in  this  Province,  besides  the  spiritual 
good  attained  by  the  many  Indians  inhabiting  the  country,  a 
better  knowledge  than  what  we  possess  at  present  should  be 
secured  and  the  entrance  of  the  Portuguese,  wdio  are  perhaps 
advancing  inland  towards  the  north,  would  be  prevented, 
while  now  nothing  is  known  of  the  establishments  that  they  are 
forming  in  this  direction,  and  the  Orinoco  would  be  secured, 
as  it  is  the  means  of  navigable  communication  with  all  the 
other  centers  of  these  vast  provinces. 


229 

Territoinj  corresponding  to  each,  body  of  Missions. 

These  three  bodies  of  Missions  have  among  themselves  an 
understanding  about  the  territory  to  be  occupied  by  each 
one,  and  this  understanding  has  been  authorized  by  the  Gov- 
ernors, Don  Carlos  de  Sucre  and  Don  Augustin  de  Arredondo, 
in  the  year  1734,  and  afterwards  approved  by  His  Majesty,  as 
shown  by  Father  Gumilla  in  his  "  Orinoco  Ilustrado,"  Chap- 
ter 1,  folio  12,  and  is  shown  by  the  Royal  Cedule  found  in  the 
archives  of  this  Government,  and  the  boundaries  are  as  fol- 
lows: The  mouth  of  the  Orinoco  to  Angostura,  under  the 
Catalan  Capuchins ;  from  the  Angostura  to  the  Caura  River 
or  Cuchivero,  under  the  Observant  Missioners ;  from  the 
Cuchivero  to  the  west,  all  under  the  Jesuits,  with  the  under- 
standing that  each  body  of  Missions  should  go  always  to  the 
south,  as  the  only  means  of  settling  and  knowing  this  most 
extensive  Province.  The  establishment  of  townships,  as  in- 
tended by  Don  Joseph  de  Iturriaga,  becomes  impossible,  on 
account  of  the  distances  intervening  through  the  extensive 
desert  plains,  between  the  new  foundations  and  those  already 
established  by  the  Spaniards  of  the  north,  and  the  coast  in  the 
Provinces  of  Caracas  and  Barcelona,  and  much  more  of  that  of 
Santa  Fe,  being  the  readiest  and  surest  recourse  to  the  fortress 
and  city  of  Guayana,  that  after  so  many  years  of  its  founda- 
tion lias  not  secured  any  of  the  advancements  ;  but  notwith- 
standing, through  this  way,  though  at  a  great  expense,  all  the 
other  townships  could  be  helped,  on  account  of  the  greatest 
facility  and  convenience  of  the  water  communication.  Horse 
transportation  from  Barcelona  and  Caracas  is  not  either  easy 
or  reasonable,  still  less  when  the  return  is  not  effected  in  silver, 
as  these  populations  have  no  way  to  procure  it  in  this  shape, 
but  by  means  of  products  when  practicable.  At  present  they 
are  all  engaged  in  rearing  cattle,  which  abound  in  all  the 
prairies,  and  it  is  without  consumption  or  estimation  in  Guay- 
ana. With  so  few  advantages  presented  by  this  territory,  few 
people  of  wealth  will  come  to  establish  here,  and  as  a  conse- 
quence these  settlements  shall  have  to  suffer,  as  explained  in 
the  preceding  note. 

CuMANA,  December  IS,  1761. 

Joseph  Diguja — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


230 

The  foregoing  copy  agrees  with  the  original  existing  in  the 
General  Archives  of  the  Indies  in  Stand  13i — Case  5 — Docket 
7— Seville,  October  13th,  1891. 

The  Chief  of  Archives. 

Carlos  Jimenez  Placer — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

[seal.] — General  Archives  of  the  Indies. 


The  undersigned,  Consul  General  of  Venezuela  in  Spain, 
certifies  to  the  authenticity  of  the  signature  of  Don  Carlos 
Jimenez  Placer,  Chief  of  the  General  Archives  of  the  Indies. 

Madrid,  October  28th,  1891. 

P.    FORTOULT    HuRTADO. 


The  undersigned,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  of  Venezuela, 
certifies  to  the  authenticity  of  the  signature  of  Sefior  Pedro 
Fortoult  Hurtado,  Consul  General  of  Venezuela  in  Spain  at  the 
preceding  date. 

Caracas,  March  6th,  1890. 

P.    EZEQUIEL    ROJAS. 

[seal.] — Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs. 


231 
No.  III. 

Stand  131. — Case  2. — Docket  l7. 
General   Abchives  of  the  Indies — (Seville.) 


1769—1779. 


Testimony  of  a  certificate  given  by  Don  Andres  de  Oleaga, 
Acconiptant  Officer  of  the  Koyal  Treasury  of  the  city  of 
Gnayana,  about  the  confiscations  and  seiznres  made 
nnder  the  command  of  tlie  Commander  General  Don 
Manuel  Centurion. 


Don  Andres  de  Oleaga,  Royal  Accomptant  Officer  of  this  city 
of  Guayana  and  this  Province  for  His  Majesty,  (whom  the 
Lord  may  protect). 

I  certify  in  due  form,  for  the  notice  of  tliose  whom  it  may 
concern,  that :  From  tlie  time  of  the  possession  of  Don  Manuel 
Centurion  of  his  post,  as  captain  of  the  Royal  body  of  Artillery 
and  Commander  General  of  this  Province,  and  due  to  his  great 
diligence  and  constant  zeal  displayed  in  the  Royal  service,  the 
following  confiscations  and  seizures  have  been  effected  :  On 
the  27th  of  January  of  the  year  1767,  at  a  port  out  of  the  way 
of  the  fortress  of  the  old  Guayana,  a  launch  coming  from  Es- 
quivo,  a  Dutch  colony,  with  two  slaves,  a  cargo  of  brandy  and 
other  goods  to  Don  Vicente  Franco.  On  the  6th  of  March  of 
said  year,  at  the  same  fortress,  several  goods  to  Bernando 
Montes,  coming  in  a  small  boat  from  the  same  Colony.  On 
the  11th  of  April  of  the  same  year,  inland  from  the  fortress, 
four  mules  loaded  with  goods  and  foreign  clothes,  without  per- 
mit or  landing  certificate.  On  the  22d  of  the  same  month  and 
year,  and  above  the  port  of  this  city,  several  goods,  without 
permit  or  landing  certificate,  to  Lorenzo  Yeguas.  On  the  16th 
of  July  of  the  same  year,  at  the  fortress  of  the  old  Guayana, 


232 

sixteen  small  barrels  of  brandy,  to  the  Pilot  Gaspav  Vidal, 
ttIio  bronght  them  furtively  and  had  buried  them  in  a  small 
island  of  the  Orinoco.  On  the  28th  of  September  of  the  same 
year,  at  the  port  of  Piaeoa,  below  the  fortress,  an  Indian  boat, 
(euriara),  loaded  with  Dutch  goods  from  Esquivo-,  to  Pedro 
Sanchez. 

By  the  Sergeant  of  the  Company  of  Pioneers,  Oipriano  May- 
orga,  with  the  boat  in  his  charge,  one  of  the  cruisers  of  the 
Orinoco  held  by  the  foreigners  trading  in  the  clandestine 
shipment  of  mules,  horses,  cattle  and  other  products  of  the 
Guarapiche  and  Teresen  rivers  emptyinc;  into  the  Paria  Gulf; 
one  English  sloop  called  "  LaSevillaiM;  "  a  Spanish  schooner, 
"  La  Espcranza ;  "  two  Spanish  launches;  likewise  an  English 
boat,  with  four  wild  African  negroes,  some  cattle,  several 
packages  of  foreign  merchandise,  and  a  few  more  in  the  coun- 
try; and  before  returning  to  this  city,  a  French  schooner, 
called  '*  Maria  Luisa"  with  two  wild  African  negroes,  two 
casks,  one  containing  red  wine  and  the  other  brandy,  and  ten 
pounds  of  coarse  thread  fit  for  ha?nmocks;  and  at  the  same 
time  by  the  same  cruiser,  manned  at  the  Island  of  Trinidad, 
one  French  sloop  and  another  French  schooner,  with  mer- 
chandise and  wild  African  negroes,  from  which,  after  deduct- 
ing all  expenses,  a  sixth  part  was  applied  for  tlie  ministers, 
and  one-half,  amounting  to  seventeen  hundred  and  ninety-two 
dollars  and  twenty-four  maravedis,  the  j^iroceeds  of  whicli  in 
this  city  were  two  thousand  and  eighty-five  dollars  three  reals 
and  one  and  a  half  maravedis.  These  seizures  were  tried  and 
adjudged  as  good  prizes,  awarded  to  His  ]\Iajesty,  on  the  30th 
of  April  and  the  29th  of  July  of  the  year  1768.  Besides  the 
above  mentioned  prizes  and  confiscations,  the  Captain  of  the 
Company  of  Pioneers  of  the  Orinoco,  Don  Francisco  Civito, 
with  two  launches  armed  as  cruisers  of  this  river,  commis- 
sioned by  the  Commander,  Don  Manuel  Centurion,  appre- 
hended two  foreigners  who  had  been  established  at  theBarima 
creek  in  the  jurisdiction  of  said  Province,  two  boats,  and  sev- 
eral iron  implements  and  agricultural  utensils  that,  by  the 
award  of  the  19tli  of  April  of  said  year  of  17G8,  were  confis- 
cated.    All  these  acts  appear  to  exist  in  ten  portions  of  the 


233 

several  proceedings  instituted,  and  the  total  amounts  in  all  to 
seven  thousand  and  one  dolhir  one  real  and  twenty-five  and 
a  half  maravedis,  out  of  which  the  corresiponding  Royal  du- 
ties for  His  Majesty  were  two  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
ninety-five  dollars  seven  reals  and  thirty-three  maravedis. 
And  finally  the  above  Captain,  since  the  13th  of  October  of 
last  year  to  the  present  time,  with  the  launches  of  his  com- 
mand, by  direction  of  the  Commander  General  of  the  Orinoco, 
has  seized  in  the  rivers  Guarapiche  and  Teresen  a  Spanish 
launch  with  twelve  batteries,  an  English  sloop  with  eighty 
mules,  six  horses  and  five  negroes;  two  large  sloops,  one  Eng- 
lish and  the  other  French ;  three  English  schooners  and  one 
small  sloop  of  the  same  nation ;  a  Spanish  launch  with  seven 
horses  and  other  merchandise  and  utensils,  the  trial  of  which 
is  still  pending.  And  at  the  verbal  request  of  said  Com- 
mander General,  Don  Manuel  Centurion,  I  issue  the  present 
■certificate  for  whatever  use  he  may  see  fit. 

Given  at  this  Royal  Accomptant  Ofjice  of  Guayana,  on  the 
twenty-eighth  day  of  January,  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred 
and  sixty-nine. 

Andres  de  Oleaga — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


We,  Don  Joseph  Rexi,  Captain  of  Infantry,  and  Don  Vicente 
Diez  de  la  Fuente,  Sub-Lieutenant,  Adjutant  Major  of  this 
troop  of  Orinoco,  attest  that  the  signature  authorizing  the  pre 
ceding  instrument  or  certificate  is  the  same  used  in  his  office 
by  the  Royal  Accomptant  Officer  of  this  city  and  Province, 
Don  Andres  de  Oleaga,  and  that  it  is  entitled  to  full  faith  and 
credit  everywhere,  and  for  those  whom  it  may  concern  we 
certify  to  the  fact  in  the  absence  of  a  Notary  Public,  and  sign 
herewith,  in  this  city  of  Guayana,  on  the  twenty-eighth 
■day  of  January  of  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty-nine. 

Joseph  Roxi. 

Vicente  Diez  de  la  Fuente. 
[There  is  a  flourish  in  each  signature]. 


234 

The  foregoing  copy  agrees  with  its  original  in  the  General 
Archives  of  the  Indies — Stand  131 — Case  2 — Docket  17 — 
Seville,  July  2d,  1891. 

The  Chief  of  Archives. 

Carlos  Jimenez  Placer — [here  is  a  flourish.] 

[seal.] — General  Archives  of  the  Indies. 


The  undersigned,  Consul  General  of  Venezuela  in  Spain,, 
certifies  to  the  authenticity  of  the  signature  of  Don  Carlos 
Jimenez  Placer,  Chief  of  the  General  Archives  of  the  Indies. 

P.    FORTOULT   HURTADO. 

Madrid,  July  17,  1891. 


The  undersigned,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  of  the  United 
States  of  Venezuela,  certifies  to  the  authenticity  of  the  signa- 
ture of  Senor  Pedro  Fortoult  Hurtado,  Consul  General  of  Vene- 
zuela in  Spain  at  the  preceding  date. 

Caracas,  March  6th,  189G. 

P.    EZEQUIEL    ROJAS. 

[seal.] — Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs. 


235 
No.  IV. 

Stand  131.— Case  2.— Docket  20. 
Gknekal   Archives  of  the  Indies. — (Seville.) 


1790. 


Two  letters  from  the  Governor  of  Giiayan a,  Don  Luis  An- 
tonio Gil,  to  Don  Pedro  de  Lorena,  informing-  him  of 
the  situation  of  the  Dutch  Colonies  located  on  the  coast 
at  forty-five  leagues,  (he  says),  from  the  mouth  of  Na- 
vios  of  the  Orinoco  River,  and  ahout  the  kind  of  Inde- 
pendent Republic  which  had  been  formed  by  the  fugi- 
tive slaves,  at  the  sources  of  the  rivers  betAveen  Surinam 
and  Esquivo.— 1790. 


1790. — Strictly  confidential. 

Most  Excellent  Sir  : — In  consequence  of  the  strictl}^  confi- 
dential Royal  Order  of  the  4th  of  last  June  that  your  Excellency 
has  kindly  communicated  to  me,  in  order  to  find  out,  through 
all  prudent  and  cautious  possible  means  what  is  the  amount  of 
fugitive  persons  from  the  Colonies  of  Surinam,  Bervice,  Deme- 
rari  and  Esquivo,  that  are  established  in  the  interior  of  this 
continent,  and  if  among  them  are  the  two  nephews  of  Tupac- 
Amaro,  with  the  other  matters  therein  contained.  In  accord- 
ance with  the  Captain  General  of  Caracas,  as  I  am  instructed 
to  act,  I  will  carry  out  this  important  measure  through  the  saf- 
est, most  reserved  and  cautious  means  possible,  advising  sub- 
sequently of  all  details  and  the  result. 

May  the  Lord  keep  your  Excellency's  life  for  many  years. 

GuAYANA,  October  16,  1790. 

Luis  Antonio  Gil — [there  is  a  flourish.] 

Most  Excellent  Don  Pedro  de  Lorena. 


236 

Strictly  confidential. 

^[osT  Excellent  Sir:  Well  aware  of  what  your  Excellency 
directs  me  to  do,  by  the  strictly  confidential  Royal  Order  of  the 
4th  of  last  June,  I  have  been  informed  with  the  greatest  se- 
crec3%  reserve  and  necessary  precautions  for  finding  out  the 
number  of  fugitives  from  the  Dutch  Colony  of  Surinam,  and 
whether  among  them  are  the  two  nephews  of  (lie  rcljcllious 
'i'iH)ac-Aiii:ir(),  if  they  have  any  dealings  with  the  Imlians,  and 
whetiier  the  hitter  look  upon  them  witli  any  consideration. 
Upon  these  particulars  and  the  other  points  communicated  to 
me,  (simulating  a  desire  to  be  })Osted  as  to  the  extension  of  this 
Province,  their  boundaries  and  frontiers,  number  of  inhabi- 
tants, whether  white  or  colored,  of  the  Indian  tribes,  reduced 
and  wild,  inhabiting  the  country),  I  have  succeeded  only  in 
obtaining  the  following  information: 

That  the  amount  of  fugitive  persons  from  Surinam  is  very 
large,  and  that  it  is  further  increased  by  the  accession  of  those 
who  go  to  join  them  from  Bervice,  Demerari,  and  Esquivo,  all 
foreign  colonies  situated  on  the  same  coast  at  a  distance  of  45 
leagues  from  the  Boco  de  Navios  of  tlie  Orinoco  River;  that 
they  are  in  communication  with  the  interior  part  of  this  Prov- 
ince; that  tliese  Colonies  carry  on  an  active  commerce  with 
Holland  in  products  which  they  gather  in  abundance  from 
tlieir  cultivated  possessions  by  European  inhabitants,  the 
greater  part,  with  the  help  of  numerous  negro  slaves  which 
they  bring  from  the  coast  of  Guinea.  These  slaves  find  their 
local  situation  on  the  respective  rivers  easy  to  escape,  and  they 
use  it  at  different  times,  withdrawing  and  making  themselves 
strong  at  the  sources  of  the  rivers,  to  the  extent  of  threatening 
the  same  Colonies,  so  as  to  have  had  to  capitulate  after  several 
unhu-ky  encounters  witli  said  fugitives,  under  conditions  far 
from  decorous,  and  of  injurious  transcendence,  as  it  is  to  be 
expected  from  the  operations,  contrivances,  and  devices  of  a 
free,  iiuhipcndcnt  RrpubHc,  composed  of  ferocious  and  barba- 
rous people,  and  the  neighborhood  of  which  lias  to  Ije  the 
source  of  constant  care  and  vigilant  attention. 

The  territory  occupied  by  the  fugitive  slaves  is  situated  be- 
tween Surinam  and  Esquivo,  where  it  ends,  and  it  is  defended 


237 

(to  prevent  our  communication  with  them)  by  the  Cuiib  In- 
dians and  other  tribes,  under  the  domination  of  a  petty  King 
or  Casicjue,  supported  by  the  Government  of  Esquivo,  that,  by 
way  of  commerce,  permits  the  inhal)itants  of  that  Colony  to 
supply  him  with  bLank  and  fire-arras,  powder,  balls,  iron  im- 
plements, and  dry  goods  in  exchange  for  Indians,  whom  they 
enslave  for  the  works  of  their  plantations,  keeping  stores  and 
commercial  houses  for  that  purpose  on  the  frontier  of  their 
possessions  not  so  far  as  to  remove  the  possibility  of  their 
coming  in  force  from  the  interior,  if  they  so  intend  it,  to  invade 
our  own  Missions  of  the  Catalan  Capuchin  Fathers,  and  even 
those  of  the  high  Orinoco  and  Rio  Negro,  as  there  is  no  force 
in  the  way  to  prevent  it  nor  Spanish  settlement  to  oppose 
them. 

The  tribes  of  natives  above  mentioned  have  been  always  our 
avowed  enemies,  opposed  to  the  expedition  sent  by  this  Gov- 
ernment a  few  years  ago  for  the  discover}^  of  the  Parima  lagoon, 
having  had  several  encounters  with  them,  having  found  them 
armed  with  muskets  and  powder  and  balls  furnished,  as  it  is 
said,  by  the  Hollanders  from  Esquivo,  who  have  sent  several 
cases  as  presents  to  the  petty  King  or  Casique. 

Embarrassed  as  it  is,  the  communication  with  the  fugitives, 
there  is  nobody  from  whom  to  obtain  reliable  renorts  as  to  the 
existence  with  them  of  the  nephews  of  the  rebellious  Tupac- 
Amaro,  nor  is  there  any  sure  way  left  to  investigate  the  fact, 
without  risks  and  difficulties,  as  we  have  the  barrier  of  the 
above-mentioned  tribes  in  the  interior  to  prevent  it,  and  from 
the  seaport  it  is  hardly  possible,  on  account  of  the  extreme  vigi- 
lance of  the  Hollanders,  withdrawing  our  communication  for 
fear  of  the  evil  consequences  that  might  follow.  For  the  same 
reason  they  take  every  precaution  to  avoid  the  publicity 
of  what  happens  with  the  people  of  the  obnoxious  savage 
Republic. 

Since  the  time  of  my  possession  of  the  government  and 
Command  of  this  Province,  I  have  not  spared  any  means  con- 
ducive to  the  elucidation  of  this  subject.  I  have  tried  to 
be  present  at  the  visit  of  the  vessels  trading  with  the  foreign 
Colonies,  so  as  to  find  out  whether   among   the   passengers- 


238 

brought  by  them  any  oiu-  may  be  suspected,  on  account  of 
their  answers  to  the  questions  set  to  them  by  me  with  the 
same  caution  required  by  the  secrecy  of  the  subject.  I  will 
continue  following  the  same  policy  and  keeping  your  P^xcel- 
U'liry  wi'll  informed  of  all  the  details  that  1  may  iind  out, 
bc'siilo.s  tliose  that  I  have  already  conveyed  to  your  Excellency, 
and  likewise  to  the  Captain  General  of  Caracas,  availing  myself 
of  every  favorable  circumstance  to  secure  tliat  end  and  the 
safety  of  this  Province. 

May  the  Lord  keep  Your  Excellency's  life  for  many  years. 

Guayana,  November  8th,  1790. 

Luis  Antonio  Jil — [there  is  a  flourish]. 

To  his  Excellency  Don  Pedro  de  Loruiia. 


Tiie  foregoing  copies  agree  with  the  documents  existing  in 
the  General  Archives  of  the  ludies  in  Stand  131 — Case  2 — 
Docket  20.     Seville,  December  31st,  1891. 

The  Chief  of  Archives. 

Caklos  .Jimenkz  Placek — [there  is  a  flourish]. 

[sKAL.] — General  Archives  of  the  Indies. 


The  undersigned.  Consul  General  of  Venezuela  in  Spain, 
certifies  to  the  autlienticity  of  the  signature  of  Don  Carlos 
Jimenez  Placer,  Chief  of  the  General  Archives  of  the  Indies. 

Madrid,  January  14th,  1892. 

P.  FORTOULT  HURTADO. 


The  undersigned,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  of  the  LTnited 
States  of  Venezuela,  certifies  to  the  autlienticity  of  the  signa- 
ture of  Senor  Pedro  Fortoult  Ilurtado,  Consul  General  of 
Venezuela  in  Spain  at  the  pri  ceding  date. 

Caracas,  March  (itli,  1S!)(',. 

P.  EZEQUIEL  ROJAS. 

[sEAr,.] — Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs. 


BOUGHT    FROM 

THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP 

Greenberg  &  SniiUi 

Dealers  in  all  kinds  of 
Stamps,  Coins,  Antiquites,  Cur.os 
Arms,  Books,  Etc. 

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433-35  Moptgoinery  St.    San  Frapcisco 


"^  DOCUMENTS 

RELATING  TO  THB  QUBSTION   OF  BOUNDARY 
BRTWeEN 

VENEZUELA  AND  BRITISEWJUAYANA 


H^l 


SUBMITTED  TO  THE  BOUNDARY  COMMISSION 
BY  THE  COUNSEL  OF  THE  GOVERN- 
MENT OF  VENEZUEI.A. 


Vol.  II. 


Washingtqw,  D.  C. 
Press  of  McGill  &  Wallace, 
1896. 


DOCUMENTS 

RELATING  TO  THE  QUESTION  OF  BOUNDARY 
BETWEEN 

VENEZUELA   AND   BRITISH   GUAYANA. 


SUBMITTED  TO  THE  BOUNDARY  COMMISSION 
BY  THE    COUNSEL    OF    THE   GOVERN- 
MENT  OF  VENEZUELA. 


VOL.  II. 


Washington,  D.  C. 
Press  of  McGill  &  Wallace, 

1S96. 
Vol.  II,  Ten.— 1 


No.  5. 

[TrMiislatioii.J 


General    Archives    of    Indies. — (Seville.) 
Stand   131. — Case  7. — Docket  17. 


Document  No.  2. 


1758.— Testimony  in  regard  to  two  Hollanders  imprisoned 
at  the  river  Coyuuy  [Cuynni]  by  the  secret  expedition, 
which  went  ont  from  the  City  of  Santo  Tome  de  Guayana 
in  the  year  1  758. 

(This  document  came  with  a  letter  No.  13,  from  the  Commander  of  La  Guayana, 
Don  Manuel  Centurion,  dated  on  the  5th  of  April,  1770.) 


Forming  a  part  of  the  proceedings  instituted  in  consequence 
of  the  claim  made  by  the  Minister  of  Holland,  complaining  of 
the  conduct  of  the  Orinoco  Spaniards  against  the  colony  of 
Esquivo  [Esequibo]. 

1758. — Testimony  taken  in  the  case  of  the  two  Hollanders  impris- 
oned at  the  river  Cayuni  by  the  secret  expeditionary  party 
which  left  this  city  in  the  year  1758 — Number  2. 

Senor  Don  Felix  Ferreras. 

Dear  Sir:  The  Caribs  from  the  mountains  having  killed 
the  captain  and  his  companion  of  the  Guayca  Indian  Station, 
who  with  their  people  formed  there  a  population  upon  good 
princi{)les  and  with  hopes  of  making  it  a  large  establishment 
on  the  banks  of  the  Stipama  river,  within  the  Hauchica  district, 
tiiat  settlement  has  now  been  lost  on  account  of  the  above 
deaths.  The  Guaycas  have  therefore  again  taken  to  the  woods, 
and  as  other  folks  of  the  said  tribe  there  may  be  yet  found  in 


the  Missions  of  tlif  Tiiniario,  tliev  are  oftentimes  clamorous  fur 
vengeance;  but  the  Father  of  that  Mission,  with  his  usual  pru- 
dence, has  made  me  acquainted  with  the  fact,  and  stopped 
them,  explaining  his  very  good  reasons,  and  his  fear  of  still 
worse  misfortunes.  I  requested  the  Commander,  Don  Juan 
Valdes,  to  be  kind  enough  to  make  himself  available  to  Your 
Honor  with  his  long  practice  and  experience  about  these  Indian 
affairs,  in  order  to  proceed,  with  ])roper  directions,  farther  in  the 
interior  of  the  country,  and  investigate  and  discover  the  reason 
of  that  slaughter,  and  if  possible  to  lind  out  the  names  of  the 
offenders.  You  liavo  carricil  out  the  directions  of  the  Com- 
mander and  made  the  necessary  in(|uiries  and  investigations 
contained  in  the  information  you  rendered  to  me  about  your 
inquest.  Having  been  as  far  as  the  Miamo,  Carapo  and  Tum- 
ario  Missions,  and  fully  investigated  the  case  about  the  middle 
of  May  of  last  year,  it  was  found  that  they  had  carried  away  a 
wife  to  be  sold  at  Esquivo.  It  was  found  out  besides  that  the 
murderers  were  certain  Caribs  from  the  settlement  of  Tupu- 
guen,  who  had  rebelled  in  the  year  1750,  conimanded  by  the 
Indian  Cayarivare,  who  had  been  an  Alcalde  atTupuquen  and 
headed  the  ringleaders  of  said  rebellion  who  were  staying  at 
the  time  in  the  interior  of  the  Cuyuny  river,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river  Corumo,  which  disembogues  in  said  river,  and  wliere  a  few 
Hollanders  of  the  Esquivo  Colony  were  purchasing  Poytos  In- 
dians and  carrying  them  away.  The  principal  cause  for  their 
having  killed  the  captain  was  on  account  of  his  settlement  in 
the  above  mentioned  site  of  Auchica,  closing  thus  their  way  to 
the  Usupaina  river,  preventing  their  coming  out  without  being 
discovered.  liy  word  of  mouth  as  well  as  by  letters  from  the 
Reverend  Fathers,  your  Honor  has  been  made  acquainted  with 
the  permanence  of  the  said  Hollanders,  in  company  with  the; 
Caribs  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Corumo,  buying  Indian  slaves. 
Now,  by  your  letter  of  the  30th  of  May,  your  Honor  kindly 
requests  me  to  make  an  accurate  statement,  infoi'ining  Your 
Honor  whether  the  Hollanders  remained  at  the  same  site  or 
at  any  other  parts  around  there,  if  they  continue  their  trade 
in  dry  goods,  hatchets,  etc.,  and  in  what  consists  their  means 
of  defence;  if  they  keep  any  artillery,  and  its  caliber,  so  that 


Your  Honor,  as  commander  ad  interim,  may  send  in  proper 
time  a  suitable  report  to  the  Superior  Government. 

My  answer,  as  well  as  that  of  all  the  Reverend  Fathers  of 
our  Missions  the  nearest  to  the  frontiers,  and  that  of  the  Father 
Presidents  of  those  of  Miamo,  Carapo,  and  Yuruario,  will  be 
that  the  Caribs  of  the  Miamo  very  often  have  asked  the  Father 
of  that  place  to  allow  them  to  go  and  arrest  and  kill  those 
Hollanders  at  the  mouth  of  the  Corumo,  who  make  ransoms 
for  the  purchase  of  Poytos,  as  they  were  informed  Ijy  the  Bar- 
inagotes  of  Yuruario.  A^ery  often  they  had  heard  that  the  Hol- 
landers had  threatened  to  set  fire  to  the  Mission  settlement  on 
•account  of  being  an  obstruction  in  their  way  to  Yuruario. 
The  Caribs  from  Carapo  reported  to  the  Father  that  a  negro 
who  was  at  Cuyunyi  went  to  the  Mission  and  out  of  fear  came 
back  again.  The  Caribs  have  advised  repeatedly  that  three 
white  Hollanders  and  ten  negroes,  with  many  Caribs,  were 
building  houses  and  clearing  the  woods  so  as  to  establish  set- 
tlements on  the  Cuyuni,  but  they  do  not  know  whether  they 
had  cannons.  They  have,  however,  large  blunderbusses  and 
many  carbines.  They  likewise  employ  Aruaca  Indians  from 
Esquivo  to  fell  very  large  trees,  involving  a  great  deal  of  work, 
which  the  Caribs  avoided  by  running  away.  Of  this  case  we 
have  no  more  news  than  what  has  been  conveyed  to  us  by  the 
Indians,  such  as  has  been  represented  to  me  by  several  other 
persons  of  the  Mission.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  Hollanders 
stopped  their  purchase  of  Poytos  at  Cuyuni,  because  the}''  do 
not  hesitate  to  continue  doing  this  illicit  trade  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  Missions.  Your  Honor  knows  well  that  Cap- 
tain Bonalde,  within  a  day's  journey  from  the  Missions,  ar- 
rested a  Hollander  who  used  to  buy  Poytos  or  Indians,  who 
were  sold  to  them  by  the  Caribs,  and  although  he  was  not  ac- 
tually found  in  the  Carib's  house,  three  Indian  Po3^tos  were 
rescued  and  several  machetes  and  bugles  were  found  in  his 
ranch  and  distributed  among  the  Miamo  Indians.  We  know, 
besides,  that  ver}'-  often  the  Hollanders  pass  by  Paraba,  Caura, 
and  the  sources  of  the  Carony.  They  do  that  every  year,  and 
there  is  no  need  to  mention  in  particular  these  things,  which 
Your  Honor  knows  very  well,  after  having  resided  for  a  long 


tiiiK'  in  tliese  Missions,  and  tiavelled  several  times  through 
these  mountains.  I  have,  however,  to  say  that  a  hirge  num- 
ber of  young  Indians  are  carried  every  day  to  foreign  colonies 
by  Caribs  and  Hollanders.  Taking  into  consideration  that 
the  Caribs  keep  an  active  trade  for  the  purchase  of  Poytos,  in 
exchange  for  iron  tools,  dry  goods,  knives,  beads,  looking 
glasses,  fire-arms,  and  many  other  things,  it  will  not  be  an 
exaggeration  to  estimate  the  yearly  sale  by  the  Caribs  at  more 
than  300  young  Indians,  killing  the  old  ones,  over  400,  which 
are  not  salabk  to  the  Hollanders,  because  they  run  away,  as 
we  know  they  do,  through  some  of  the  fugitives  found  in  the 
Missions  and  recognized  by  the  l)rand  that  a  great  many  of 
them  have  })ainted  on  their  bodies,  as  the  Esquivo  Company 
orders  that  all  the  Indian  slaves  be  iron-branded,  under  j)en- 
alty  of  forfeiture.  I  am  not  able  to  name  all  the  tribes  tliat 
are  persecuted  by  the  Caril)s  to  be  made  slaves,  save  those 
that  we  have  near  our  frontiers  and  those  well  known  to  the 
Barinogotos,  Maoraacos,  Amarucotos,  Camaracotos,  and  Anaos, 
Parabinas,  Guaycas,  etc.  The  Hollanders  and  Caribs,  in  order 
to  reach  these  tribes,  go  to  the  Esquivo  river  for  about  20 
leagues,  up  to  the  point  where  there  is  a  station.  As  there  is 
a  deep  cataract  on  the  way  they  take  their  boats  by  land,  and 
resume  the  navigation  up  the  river  till  they  reach  Rio  Negro 
on  the  upper  Esquivo,  taking  on  the  right  side  the  river  Ari- 
pamury,  u|)  to  a  place  where  there  are  a  few  small  lagoons,  after 
going  up  the  Aripamury  as  far  as  possible,  having  to  carry 
the  boats  for  a  distance  through  land  for  about  half  a  league, 
where  said  lagoons  form  the  river  Mao,  through  which  tliey 
meet  Rio  Negro,  and  going  down  through  the  latter  on  the  left 
they  reach  the  Amazonas,  and  going  upwards  enter  the  river 
Orinoco.  I  have  made  tiiis  statement  so  as  to  show  that  the 
Esquivo  navigation  was  the  way  of  communication  of  the 
Hollanders  in  their  trij),  both  to  Barinas  and  to  Paraba  at  the 
sources  of  the  Carony.  As  tjjis  is  a  long  and  tedious  navi- 
gation from  tlie  Esquivo  they  enter  Corou}'^  and  Paraba,  as 
all  these  rivers  are  in  connnunication  witli  the  Esquivo,  which 
receives  the  waters  of  the  Coyuny,  Yuruama,  Supama,  and 
Yuruario. 


And  this  Yuruamata  has  many  brooks  by  thickets  of  Moriche 
palm-trees  that  reach  Carony.  We  know  also  that  many  Hol- 
landers, besides  those  going  up  Paraba,  remain  to  make  pur- 
chases of  Poytos  among  the  tribes  of  Tacupo,  Capi,  and  Para- 
man.  These  sites  inland  are  about  three  and  four  days' journey 
from  the  last  Missions.  They  are  in  the  mountains  and  run  as 
far  as  the  plantations  on  the  Esquivo,  where  there  is  no  more 
level  ground.  In  these  places  there  are  generally  Hollanders 
who  purchase  from  the  Caribs  the  Poytos  which  are  carried 
there  and  several  horses,  as  was  the  case  in  the  year  1749, 
when  a  large  quantity  of  mules  were  purchased  from  them  at 
the  Esquivo,  which  is  seldom  the  case,  as  there  is  no  forage  for 
keeping  them  around  those  mountains,  where  the  purchasers 
have  to  lose  them.  Purchasers  from  the  Esquivo  come  to 
these  sites  of  Tacupo  and  Paraman  by  land,  making  the  In- 
dians carry,  on  their  shoulders,  the  baskets  containing  the  ran- 
soms for  Poytos,  or  else  they  go  through  Esquivo,  Coyuny, 
and  Corumo.  This  latter  is  a  river  that  before  joining  the 
Coyuny  carries  the  waters  of  the  rivers  Tucupo  and  Maren- 
ambo,  all  navigable,  during  the  rain}'  season,  for  a  short 
distance  only,  having  no  means  of  navigation  to  reach  their 
sources  for  any  longer  than  four  or  five  days,  enough  for 
the  enemy  to  penetrate  conveniently  through  our  land,  and 
the  traders  in  Poytos  reach  likewise  the  Tupuco  tribe  through 
the  river  Moruca,  in  which  the  Esquivo  station  is  situated,  or 
through  the  river  Vaini,  all  of  which  come  out  near  the  mouths 
of  the  Orinoco,  and  follow  their  navigation  up  to  the  river 
Paraman,  in  which  the  Caribs  are  found  in  abundance  at 
Moruca  and  Rainy.  The  traders  in  Poytos  come  likewise 
through  the  Orinoco  as  far  as  Aquire,  Carapo,  and  although 
they  have  no  fixed  time  to  undertake  their  trips,  they  come 
and  go  always  whenever  they  please,  but  it  is  known  that  for 
the  most  part  of  the  year  they  keep  about  there,  sometimes  for 
as  long  as  ten  years,  among  the  Caribs,  keeping  the  trade  in 
Poytos,  and  sending  them  to  the  Esquivo  in  charge  of  their 
agents,  in  quest  of  other  ransoms  to  continue  the  purchase 
from  the  Caribs.  At  least  they  stay  tliere  from  one  to  three 
vears. 


This  trade  in  Poytos  keeps  the  Caribs  busy  all  the  time, 
without  any  other  attention  than  that  of  going  and  coming  to 
resume  the  war,  buy  and  kill  the  Indians  of  the  above  tribes, 
not  only  in  the  mountains  but  even  tliose  in  the  Missions,  who 
can  not  be  kept  away  from  tlicm.  Many  run  away  to  meet  them. 
It  is  eas}^  to  shut  the  doors  to  these  enemies,  so  as  to  prevent 
their  communications  with  the  Hollanders  and  from  joining 
Caribs  from  the  Esquivo,  Coyuny,  Yuruario,  ( 'arony  with  those 
tribes,  forming  a  people,  which,  if  it  can  not  be  Spanish, 
ought  to  be  of  select  Indians,  which  under  ten  soldiers  at  least 
keep  continually  at  the  mouth  of  the  Corumo  or  the  islands 
of  Cunun}',  so  as  to  close  the  entrance  to  the  Turuama  and 
Yuruario,  and  consequently  succeed  in  stopping  their  com- 
nmnication  and  keeping  them  away  from  Corumo. 

These  people  will  command  the  respect  of  the  Hollanders, 
preventing  them  from  trading  in  Poytos  at  Tucupo,  no  matter 
how  near  it  is.  The  Indians  of  said  place  will  be  soldiers,  and 
it  will  be  convenient  to  keej)  them  away  from  enemies  coming, 
through  those  rivers,  and  from  the  Caribs  from  Miamo,  Curapo 
and  Conury  descending  the  Esquivo  with  Poytos.  I  think  the 
Missions  will  be  kept  safe  by  cutting  their  communication  with 
the  Caribs  from  Conuny  and  Esquivo.  If  it  is  not  closed, 
we  may  soon  lose  the  pacific  tribes  which,  if  persecuted  as  they 
are  now,  will  be  carried  away  as  slaves.  It  would  be  a  sad 
thing  to  see  these  Indians  carried  away  as  slaves  from  the 
Yuruario.  I  believe  the  Hollanders  are  in  earnest  trying  to 
buy  Poytos.  Therefore  it  is  more  difficult  to  convert  the  Caribs, 
while  under  the  advice  of  the  1  lollamlri's,  in  ordt^r  to  avoid  their 
staying  in  the  place.  Many  go  back  to  the  mountains,  and 
through  the  bad  advice  of  the  Dutch,  ran  away  from  the 
Missions  in  the  year  1750,  when  they  had  four  settlements 
rebelled,  on  account  of  having  been  told  that  if  they  settled 
in  the  villages  the  Spaniards  would  make  them  slaves,  pre- 
venting them  from  going  to  war  and  trading  with  the  Flemish. 

I  have  to  inform  Your  Honor  likewise,  that  I  have  heard 
from  Moyo  N.,  that  while  he  was  coming  from  Esquivo  to  be- 
come a  Christian  here,  after  he  was  ba})tized,  he  told  me  that 
he  had  brought  many  papers  from  Esquivo,  among  them  a 


9 

•chapter,  in  which  the  Governors  had  delineated  their  jurisdic- 
tion, which  he  said  extended  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  Aquire,  and 
from  said  mouth  a  straight  line  drawn  towards  the  south,  mak- 
ing the  boundary  line  for  the  Governor,  so  that  said  line  reaches 
as  far  as  the  skirts  of  the  last  praries  (savannahs)  of  our  Missions 
of  Miamo,  etc. 

Said  line  goes  through  I'ucupo  and  Ciirumo,  reaching  the 
above-mentioned  Apipamary,  and  I  think  the  above  news  to 
•be  true,  and  if  so,  the  Governors  yonder  have  suited  themselves 
to  the  best  of  their  ability,  by  robber}^  so  as  to  give  their 
permits  under  those  limitations. 

Whatever  I  have  stated  heretofore  is  well  and  publicly 
known,  and  it  is  a  pity  that  the  purchasers  of  Poytos  are  never 
severely  punished  when  His  Majesty  recommends  to  all  the 
justices  to  endeavor  to  extend  the  best  treatment  to  the  reduced 
Indians  and  to  those  who  have  peaceful  intercourse  with  the 
.S[)aniards,  taking  care  to  defend  them  from  those  waging  w^ar 
against  them.  All  the  above-mentioned  nations  are  in  such  a 
condition  that  if  they  had  sufficient  help  they  could  go  and 
bring  many  of  them  to  the  village,  as  it  is  done  already  with 
'the  Barinagotos.  The  hatred  is  such  that  the  Caribs  call  all 
these  tribes  Guaycas  Poytos,  Barinagotos  Poytos,  Amarucotos 
Poytos,  and  they  are  all  Poytos  before  they  are  caught,  etc- 
-All  these  nations  would  be  glad  to  know  how  the  Spaniards 
defend  them  by  arresting  their  purchasers ;  it  is  true,  however* 
that  it  will  be  advisable  to  seize  them  in  order  to  prevent  the 
long  delay  in  their  conversions,  and  if  Your  Honor  follows 
lihis  plan  I  think  it  will  be  a  great  service  to  God  and  to  the 
Xing. 

God  preserve  Your  Honor  many  years. 

I  remain  Your  Honor's  most  obedient  servant. 

Fray  Benito  de  la  Gariga. 

To  Don  Felix  Ferreras, 

Infantry  Ensign  of  His  Majesty  and  Commander 
ad  interim  of  this  station  and  the  Province 
of  Guayana. 

-SuAY,  June  9,  1758. 


10 

UnlliH/. — Wlierea.s  I  have  n^ccived  news  from  the  i.shiiid  of 
("arainaeiiro.  in  the  river  Cuyuiiy,  in  the  interior  of  this  Pro- 
vince, stating  that  there  is  tliere  a  Holhinder  hy  the  name  of 
Jacob,  and  a  colored  man  of  the  same  nation,  living  in  perma- 
nent houses  and  making  the  inhuman  trade  of  Indians  en- 
slaved, purchased  from  the  Caribs  in  exchange  for  coarse 
cloths,  hatchets,  knives,  ammunitions  of  war,  and  otiier  kinds 
of  ransoms ;  whereas  such  a  commerce  is  forbidden  b}'  law  and 
repeated  cedules,  for  the  enforcement  of  whieli  fortresses  have 
been  erected  and  kept  under  pro{)er  custody  of  a  detachment 
of  troops,  so  as  to  protect  the  Missions  of  the  Reverend  Capu- 
chin Fathers,  who  have  sustained,  and  are  in  fear  of  sustain- 
ing the  total  loss  of  their  settlement  through  an  obnoxious 
traffic  kept  up  and  maintained  by  the  Hollanders  and  other 
foreigners,  who  incite  the  gentile  Indians  against  the  estab- 
lishment of  those  settlements — the  result  being  that  the  Gos- 
pel is  not  more  extended  in  this  Province.  Therefore  in 
order  to  stop  these  injurious  difficulties,  and  carry  out  the 
good  intentions  of  His  Majesty  and  i)revent  tlie  Hollanders 
from  encroaching  every  day,  more  and  more,  upon  this  coun- 
try, I  ordain  and  command,  to  Don  Santiago  Bonalde,  in  the 
first  place,  and  in  the  second  place,  to  Don  Luis  Lopez  de  hi 
Puente,  to  depart  to-day  for  the  interior,  in  the  direction  of 
the  settlement  of  Yuruari,  and  embark  there  on  the  vessels 
found  in  said  river  with  their  crews,  {provisions,  ammunitions 
of  war,  and  the  soldiers  which  will  be  enlisted  and  placed 
un<ler  them,  with  the  ablest  and  most  trustworthy  pilot.  They 
will  march  towards  the  said  island  of  Caramacuro  and  appre- 
hend said  Hollander  and  all  those  persons  besides,  who  may  be 
found  with  them,  whether  Caribs  or  from  any  other  nation, 
and  bring  them  a'<  prisoners  well  secured  to  this  garrison,  leav- 
ing in  the  han<ls  of,  and  uudei'  the  Reverend  Father  Prefect,, 
all  the  Indians  tliat  they  may  have  found  enslaved. 

In  order  to  succeed  in  the  object  of  this  expedition  on  the 
part  of  the  King  our  Lord,  I  pray  and  connnend  the  Rever- 
end Father  Prefect,  and  the  other  Fathers  of  his  Holy  Com- 
munity, to  give  all  the  necessary  aid  to  the  above  mentioned 
Don  Santiago  Bonalde  and  Don  Luis  Lopez  de  la  Puente,  as 


11 

they  have  been  accnstoraed  to  do,  with  a  holy  zeal  on  every 
occasion ;  and  I  order  and  command  that  the  soldiers  and  the 
other  people  who  are  going  in  the  same  vessel,  keep  them- 
selves under  the  orders  and  pleasure  of  the  above  mentioned 
chieftains,  alternately,  and  it  will  be  the  same  with  all  the  In- 
dians through  the  settlements  they  visit,  being  well  aware  if  they 
fail  to  obey  their  orders  that  they  will  receive  the  correspond- 
ing punishment.  Wishing  the  best  success  to  this  expedition, 
under  the  arrangements  made  by  said  Don  Santiago  Bonalde' 
and  Don  Luis  Lopez  de  la  Puente,  with  the  instructions  that 
will  be  furnished  them,  expecting,  from  their  well  known  love 
of  the  Royal  service,  that  they  will  acquit  themselves  with  the 
present  commission,  I  grant  them  every  power  necessary  for 
their  full  discharge. 

Dated  in  this  garrison  of  La  Guayana,  on  the  27th  day  of 
the  month  of  July,  in  the  year  1758. 

Felix  Ferreras. 


Indructions. — Instructions  to  be  observed  in  the  first  place 
by  Don  Santiago  Bonalde,  and  in  the  second  by  Don  Luis 
Santos  de  la  Puente,  in  the  entrance  to  the  island  of  Caramu- 
curo  to  the  station  occupied  by  the  Hollanders  therein  estab- 
lished, making  the  trade  of  ransoms  in  Indians,  which  they 
enslave. 

1.  They  will  set  out  to-day  for  the  settlement  of  Yuruario,. 
where  they  will  find  the  necessary  vessels,  furnished  with 
crews,  stores,  ammunitions  of  war  and  soldiers,  and  without, 
detention  they  will  pass  in  review  everything,  and  if  anything 
else  is  wanted  they  will  ask  for  it  from  the  Reverend  Father 
President  of  the  settlement,  and  they  will  continue  their  march 
towards  said  island,  having  all  the  vessels  united,  without  ad- 
vancing or  going  behind,  giving  to  the  cockswain  of  each  the 
order  which  they  have  to  carry  out. 

2.  If  on  their  way  they  meet  Indian  vessels  they  will  seize 
and  carry  them  along  with  them,  finding  out  every  particular 
upon  the  subject  of  their  march  which  they  can  possibly  ac- 
quire, keeping  them  as  guides  with  all  the  necessary  precau- 


12 

tions,  so  as  to  avoiil   tlirir    desertion   and   secure  the  end  of 
tlioir  journey. 

3.  They  must  eniph)y  the  best  means  to  ascertain  how  the 
HoHanders  keep  their  establishment ;  if  they  have  their  houses 
barricaded  in  tlie  lower  or  liiuhcr  [mrt  ;  if  they  have  any  can- 
nons or  light  guns,  or  either  chiss;  under  what  kind  (^f  people; 
if  the  Indians  accompany  them  under  ai'ms;  in  which  way 
they  may  be  reached  witli(»ut  l>eing  perceived,  so  as  to  take 
them  unaAvarcs  by  surprise;  if  they  keep  stakes  around,  and 
whether  the  ends  of  said  stakes  are  poisoned  ;  if  they  are  dis- 
guised with  false  floors  in  the  transit  ;  if  they  keep  lookouts, 
in  which  places,  and  how  they  can  be  caught. 

4.  When  everything  has  been  found  out  they  will  advance 
towards  the  houses  of  the  Hollanders  at  daybreak,  and  not  by 
night,  to  avoid  the  risk  of  offending  one  another,  and  the  pro- 
tection of  the  obscurity  and  the  knowledge  of  the  ground  ena- 
l)ling  the  offenders  to  escape.  But,  in  case  that  a  night  advance 
ht>  required,  to  have  every  one  of  the  party  under  a  white 
device,  covering  their  heads,  so  as  to  recognize  each  other. 

5.  The  prisoners  once  well  secured,  if  there  is  any  informa- 
tion about  other  Dutch  {)laces  on  the  lower  or  uj^per  portion 
of  said  river  Cuyuni,  and  if  there  is  a  certainty  of  their  appre- 
hension, they  shall  go  after  them,  proceeding  witli  the  same 
precautions  observed  in  regard  to  the  others,  and  with  the 
same  security  they  shall  be  brought  to  this  garrison,  as  well 
as  the  Carib  Indians  found_^with  them,  and  the  Poytos,  which 
mu.st  be  treated  with  love  and  cliarity,  and  delivered  to  the 
Reverend  Father  Prefect,  Fray  Benito  de  la  Gariga. 

().  As  said  Reverend  Father  Prefect  has  had  the  first  infor- 
mation upon  this  painful  subject  and  the  serious  injury  done  to 
the  success  of  their  holy  adniinisti'ation,  a  conference  must  be 
liad  with  .said  Reverend  Father,  so  as  not  to  make  any  mis- 
take. The  war  instructions  already  mentioned  will  be  carried 
out  by  said  Bonalde  and  Puente  as  it  may  be  found  proper. 

7.  If  the  Carib  Indian  named  Bumuro  ])c  found,  he  must 
be  secured,  as  I  am  informed  he  controls  all  the  Indian  settle- 
ments of  his  tribe,  and  imprisons  those  of  other  tribes,  to  be  sold 
the  Hollandei's,  as  well  as  to  otlier  Indians  employed  in  sim- 


13 

ilar  negotiations,  taking  from  him  all  the  slaves  that  he  may 
have  in  his  possession  and  delivering  them  to  the  order  of  the 
Reverend  Father  Prefect,  for  their  Christian  instruction  and 
popnlation. 

8.  If  it  happens  that  daring  the  navigation  they  are  attacked 
from  the  banks  of  the  river  by  any  enemy,  embarrassing  their 
way  and  destination,  and  that  the  same  vessels  are  not  suit- 
able for  returning  the  fire  with  advantage,  they  will  leave 
them  in  custody,  so  as  to  be  able  to  hmd  and  charge  the  enemy 
until  every  one  be  apprehended. 

9.  Everything  will  be  carried  out  as  directed  by  the  above- 
mentioned  Don  Santiago  Bonalde  and  Don  Luis  Lopez  de  la 
Puente,  whose  valor  and  zeal  for  the  Royal  service  promise  the 
best  success  under  these  instructions,  to  which  they  will  adjust 
their  conduct  in  everything  connected  with  their  orders,  in 
virtue  of  the  present  commission  intrusted  to  them. 

Guayana,  the  27th  day  of  July,  1758. 

Felix  Ferreras. 

The  greatest  care  will  be  taken  so  as  to  secure  the  ransoms 
and  all  the  articles  of  commerce  which  may  be  seized,  making 
an  inventory  of  everything,  and  not  allowing  anything  to  be 
taken  out  and  kept  in  the  vessels  in  which  they  make  the 
commerce. 

Date,  Ut  Supra. 

Ferreras, 


Appointment  of  witnesses. — In  the  city  of  Santo  Tome  de 
Guayana,  on  the  27th  day  of  the  month  of  October,  in  the  year 
1758,  Sehor  Juan  de  Dios  Valdes,  Castillian  captain  of  the 
fortresses  of  His  Majesty  and  Commander-in-Chief,  said  :  Tliat 
in  order  to  make  and  institute  a  summary  information,  accord- 
ing to  the  cliapter  of  instructions  from  his  Honor,  the  Captain 
General  and  Governor  of  these  Provinces,  upon  the  secret  ex- 
pedition and  the  result  of  the  apprehension  of  two  Hollanders, 
with  their  wives  and  a  negro  slave,  in  the  river  Cuyuni,  and 
as  one  of  the  Chiefs  in  command  of  the  expedition  is  the  Notary 
Public  of  this  city,  Don  Luis  Lopez  de  la  Puente,  not  able  to 


14 

iict  as  such  in  this  matter,  it  has  become  necessary  to  appoint 
two  satisfactory  persons  higlily  trustworthy,  so  as  to  make  them 
witnesses  in  all  the  acts  corresponding  to  this  subject,  and  these 
circumstances  concurring  in  the  persons  of  the  Ensign  of  In- 
fantry, Don  Luis  de  Aleman  and  the  Cadet,  Don  Francisco 
Xavier  Filgueyra,  I  ought  to  ap{)oint,  and  do  appoint  the  same, 
so  as  to  act  as  witnesses,  after  having  been  notified  for  their 
acceptance  and  the  oath  of  office  ;  first,  and  before  everything 
else,  they  must  faithfully  attest  to  all  the  acts  that  will  be  per- 
formed in  their  presence,  and  then  it  will  follow  every  other 
act  in  the  same  manner. 
It  was  so  ruled  and  signed. 

Juan  Valdes. 


Notification. — Immediately  following,  T,  the  expressed  Com- 
mander, Don  Juan  Valdes,  did  notify  his  ap})ointinent  as  a 
witness  of  the  })receding  ruling,  to  the  Ensign  Don  Euis  de 
Alemdn,  and,  being  well  understood,  he  said  that  he  accei)ted 
and  did  accept  it,  and  swore  before  God  our  Lord,  making  the 
sign  of  the  cross,  to  perform  faithfully  and  well  his  duties,  as 
explained  to  him,  and  he  signed  with  me.  I  certify  to  the 
same. 

Luis  de  Aleman. 


Another. — And  tlicn  I,  the  expressed  Commander,  notified 
the  otiier  witness  of  his  appointment,  according  to  the  above 
rule,  the  Cadet  Don  Xavier  Filgueyra,  who  said  that  he  ac- 
cepted and  did  accept  it,  and  swore,  in  proper  form,  *  to  keep 
and  observe  faithfully  the  duties  devolved  on  him  in  the  })rem- 
ises,  and  signed  with  me.     So  do  I  certify. 

Valdes. 

Francisco  Xavier   Filgueyra  y  Garcia. 


Rnlc. — In  the  city  of  ( iuayana,  on  the  oUth  day  of  the  above 
month  and   year  of  the   Lord,  Don   Juan   Valdes,  Castillian 


*The  Spanish  form  of  the  oath  of  the  previous  notification  will  be  thus  reduced 
■by  the  translator. 


15 

Captain  of  His  Majesty  and  Commander  in  Chief  of  this 
Province,  said  :  That,  in  order  to  proceed  and  substantiate 
these  proceedings  according  to  law,  he  ouglit  to  command  and 
does  command  to  have  at  the  head  of  tliem  the  letters  of  the 
most  Reverend  Prefect  of  these  Missions,  which  were  the  mo- 
tive of  the  sending  and  organizing  of  the  above-mentioned 
expedition,  together  with  the  instructions  and  appointment  of 
the  chiefs  in  command,  signed  by  the  Ensign  Don  Felix 
Ferreras,  who,  in  his  absence,  was  the  Commander  ad  interim 
of  this  place ;  and  afterwards  the  above-mentioned  witnesses, 
Don  Santiago  Bonalde  and  Don  Luis  Lopez  de  la  Puente,  the 
appointed  chiefs,  will  be  summoned  to  appear  at  eight  o'clock 
to-mori'ow  morning  before  his  Honor,  said  Commander,  to 
render  their  sworn  affidavit  about  all  the  incidents,  acts,  and 
resistances  on  the  part  of  said  Hollanders  opposed  to  them, 
exhibiting  the  papers  that  they  may  have  found  with  them, 
and  stating  distinctly  which  of  them  was  the  aggressor  who 
took  the  life  of  one  of  the  soldiers  of  said  expedition  and  badly 
wounded  another  in  his  arm,  answering  to  all  the  questions  of 
his  Honor  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  above- 
mentioned  expedition  until  their  return  to  this  city.  To  the 
same  end  several  other  soldiers  who  went  in  the  expedition 
will  be  examined,  and  after  their  affidavits  have  been  taken, 
the  declarations  of  the  two  prisoners,  the  Hollanders,  will  be 
heard,  and  they  shall  be  brought  under  a  suitable  custody  to 
the  presence  of  his  Honor,  so  as  to  state  the  reasons  for  their 
sojourn  and  business  in  those  places,  by  whom  they  were 
posted  there,  and  for  what  purpose;  all  of  which  being  accom- 
plished, the  other  necessary  acts  connected  with  these  pro- 
ceedings Avill  follow. 

Done  under  the  authority  and  in  presence  of  the  under- 
signed, who  certify  to  the  same. 

Juan  Valdes. 

Luis  de  Aleman. 

Francisco  Xavier  Filgueyra  y  Garcia. 


Summons. — Following  in  order,  we,  Don   Luis  de  Aleman 
and  Don  Francisco  Xavier  Filgueyra,  the  witnesses  appointed 


16 

to  substantiate  these  acts,  called  at  the  residence  of  Don 
>Santia<;o  Bonalde  and  Don  Luis  Loi)ez  de  hi  Puente  and  sum- 
moned them,  as  ruled  by  the  above  act,  for  to-morrow  morning, 
at  eigiit  o'clock,  in  person.     We  certify  to  the  same. 

Luis  Alemax. 

Francisco  Xavikk  Filgueyka. 


Affidavit  by  Don  Santiago  Bonalde. — In  the  above  city  of  Guay- 
ana,  on  the  31st  day  of  October,  in  the  year  1758,  appeared 
before  his  Honor,  Sefior  Don  Juan  Valdes,  and  the  witnesses, 
Don  Santiago  Bonalde,  in  order  to  render  his  affidavit  in  com- 
pliance with  the  al;)ove  rule  as  one  of  the  cliiefs  ap[)ointed  for 
the  secret  expeditionary  force  that  was  sent  to  the  Cuyuni 
river,  and  after  having  been  duly  sworn  *  in  the  proj)t'r  form, 
and  ])romising  to  state  the  truth  of  all  that  he  knew,  and  upon 
whicli  he  would  be  interrogated,  and  being  questioned,  lie  said 
as  follows : 

1.  That  having  departed  from  this  city  with  the  order  and 
instructions  that  he  shows  to  reach  the  settlement  of  Yuruario,. 
where  he  found  the  armed  people  ready,  and  that  he  reviewed 
immediately  and  examined  their  arms  and  vessels,  and  lind- 
ing  everything  in  proper  shape  and  ready  for  the  march,  he 
gave  orders  to  the  cockswains  and  people  to  eml)ark  and 
have  the  vessels  to  pi'oeeed  in  good  order  one  after  another. 

2.  In  regard  to  tlie  second  chapter  of  his  instructions,  he 
.said  that  he  had  failed  to  carry  out  its  directions  as  to  appre- 
liending  and  carrying  along  with  him  those  Indians  that  he 
would  meet,  because  he  thought  a  more  convenient  policy  to 
attract  them  with  friendship  and  atlection,  so  as  not  to  frighten 
them,  which  })olicy  proved  correct,  as  he  succeeded  in  securing 
their  help  in  everything  that  was  wanted.  If  he  had  seized 
and  tied  them,  after  apprehending  them,  a  few  at  least,  he  was 
afraid,  would  have  rebelled  and  brought  about  mischief,  as 
they  are  numerous  and  their  (ields  afforded  no  facilities  for  any 
defence. 

*  The  same  form  of  the  oath  as  above  quoted  by  the  translator. 


17 

3.  That  ill  regard  to  the  third  chapter,  he  performed  with 
every  possible  skill  everything  therein  expressed,  and  did  not 
find  any  old  houses  staked  in,  nor  any  other  kind  of  ambush. 

4.  That  in  regard  to  the  fourth  chapter,  he  said  that  in  order 
to  avail  himself  of  the  occasion  he  got  some  of  the  Caribs  who 
infest  those  places  to  befriend  and  lead  him,  without  being 
noticed,  until  he  reached  a  place,  the  name  of  which  he  does 
not  bear  in  mind,  where  a  white  Hollander  was  found  at  noon 
and  made  no  resistance,  nor  attempt  to  run  away  when  he 
was  appreliended.  From  that  place  they  continued  their 
march,  in  company  with  the  Indians,  as  far  as  the  hut  where 
said  Hollander  lived.  Said  hut  was  covered  with  {)alm  leaves, 
without  any  walls.  They  spent  two  days  in  reaching  the  same, 
going  down  the  river.  When  they  were  near  the  said  hut 
they  stopped  until  it  was  dark,  as  he  thought  the  darkness 
favorable  for  an  advance;  that  he  disposed  his  men  in  the  best 
possible  order  at  the  time  suggested  by  the  Caribs,  and  at 
about  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  or  it  may  have  been  seven 
o'clock,  he  undertook  the  assault  with  his  men  on  the  said  hut, 
and  found  one  Hollander,  who  seemed  to  be  lying  on  a  ham- 
mock, and  warned  by  the  barking  of  a  dog  he  arose,  and  they 
all  fell  on  him  so  as  to  prevent  him  from  reaching  any  arms 
that  he  might  have  had  there.  At  this  time  four  or  five  gun 
shots  were  heard,  and  they  were  not  able  to  find  out  who  fired 
them  ;  that  he  found  out  that  his  own  went  off"  accidentally,  and 
that  a  soldier  that  had  fired  his  blunderbuss  said  it  was  on  a 
negro  who  accompanied  said  Hollander  and  was  running  away 
from  the  hut ;  that  he  could  not  find  out  who  fired  the  other  ; 
that  he  only  heard  the  voice  of  one  of  the  soldiers,  while  strug- 
gling with  the  said  Hollander,  in  order  to  tie  him,  saying, 
simultaneously  with  a  pistol  shot,  "  This  rascal  has  killed  me  ;" 
and  without  minding  who  it  was  we  endeavored  only  to  secure 
the  person  of  the  Hollander,  and  having  succeeded  he  found 
out,  on  inquiry,  that  one  of  his  soldiers  had  been  killed  and 
another  badly  wounded  in  an  arm  ;  that  he  immediately  tried 
to  find  the  arms  held  by  them,  and  found  two  pistols  already 
emptied  and  a  musket  in  the  hands  of  the  Caribs ;  and  having 
upbraided  the  Hollander  for  his  having  fired,  he  answered 

Vol.  II,  Ven. — 2. 


IS 

that  ho  had  not,  that  it  iniiiht  have  been  the  negro  who  was 
with  liini. 

").  As  to  tlie  fiftli  cha[)ter,  hu  followed  his  instructions  and 
fountl  out  that  that  there  were  no  other  huts  or  ranches  up  or 
down  the  river. 

().  That  lie  followed  the  sixth  chapter  just  as  it  is. 

7.  In  regard  to  the  seventh  ciiapter,  he  found  it  was  better 
to  let  the  (aribs  come  freely,  as  they  promised  and  did  so,  as 
otherwise  he  could  not  have  succeeded,  on  account  of  their 
large  number.  Many  of  them  are  found  already  in  the  Mission 
of  the  Reverend  Capuchin  Father.  In  regard  to  the  Indian 
Tomuto,  he  had  no  news  whatever. 

8.  As  to  the  eiglith  cha})ter,  he  found  nothing  new  in  its 
contents. 

0.  As  to  the  ninth  instruction,  he  followed  everything  as 
directed.  In  regard  to  ransoms,  he  found  only  twelve  dozens 
of  knives,  seven  of  hatchets,  and  remnants  of  cloth  that  he  dis- 
tributed among  the  Caribs,  so  as  to  keep  them  well  pleased  and 
safe ;  that  the  ten  dozens  of  said  knives  and  seven  of  hatchets 
he  delivered  to  the  Reverend  Father  Fray  Thomas  de  San 
Pedro,  as  he  could  not  bring  them  to  this  city  on  account  of 
the  long  delay  and  fatigues  of  the  road  ;  that  he  did  the  same 
with  five  guns  and  a  pistol  taken  from  the  Hollander,  to  whom 
lie  asked  who  had  i)laced  tliem  in  that  station  ami  for  wliat 
purpose,  and  he  answered  that  they  had  been  placed  there  by 
the  Governor  of  Esquivo,  witliout  sa3dng  anything  else  in  j-e- 
ply  to  the  other  cpiestions;  that  in  a  little  Ijox  he  found  cer- 
tain papers  having  the  appearance  of  instructions,  and  that  he 
delivered  them  on  his  arrival  to  this  city  in  the  hands  of  the 
Ensign  of  Infantry,  Don  Felix  Ferreras;  that  from  the  jdace 
where  they  found  the  ranch  on  the  river  Cuyuni,  to  the  Mis- 
sion, wherefrora  they  had  departed,  the  journey  took  twenty- 
two  days,  three  of  which  in  the  navigation  uj)  the  river  and 
tlie  remainder  by  land  ;  that  tliis  is  all  that  he  knmvs  and  what 
is  contained  in  his  notes,  and  the  truth  under  the  oath  that  he 
has  taken,  and  that  he  atiirms  and  ratifies  the  same,  and  will 


19 

assert  again  if  wanted ;  that  he  is  thirty-four  years  old,  and 
signs  with  his  Honor  and  witnesses. 

Juan  Valdez. 

Francisco  Santiago  Bonalde. 

Luis  de  Aleman. 

Francisco  Xavier  Filgueyray  Garcia. 


Affidavit  of  Don  Luis  de  la  Puente. — On  the  same  day  and 
year  it  came  before  his  Honor,  the  Commander  Don  Juan 
Valdes,  and  the  acting  witness,  Don  Luis  Lopez  de  la  Puente, 
one  of  the  chiefs  appointed  for  the  secret  expedition,  who  was 
duly  sworn  by  his  Honor  in  the  usual  form  (as  already  given), 
and  promised  to  tell  the  truth  of  all  that  lie  knew,  and  was 
interrogated  as  it  was  done  in  the  order  of  his  instructions,  and 
he  said  :  That  having  left  this  city  with  the  order  and  instruc- 
tions shown  him,  he  took  his  departure  for  the  settlement  of 
Yuruario,  and  there  found  the  soldiers,  and  that  everything 
was  ready;  that  he  examined  the  arms  and  took  to  the  boats, 
which  left  as  directed. 

2.  In  regard  to  the  second  chapter  of  instructions,  he  said  : 
His  comrade  did  not  think  it  was  a  good  policy  to  do  the  least 
harm  to  the  Indians  which  they  met  on  the  way,  and  thought 
best  to  treat  them  kindly,  so  as  to  deserve  their  favor,  as  it 
was  done  successfully ;  that  on  account  of  this  circumstance  he 
did  not  carry  out  the  letter  of  instructions  of  this  chapter. 

3.  In  regard  to  this  chapter,  he  endeavored  to  find  out  and 
ascertain  the  points  mentioned,  as  directed,  and  he  could  not 
find  nor  ascertain  the  places,  or  any  case  of  ambuslies. 

4.  In  regard  to  this  chapter,  he  said :  After  eight  days'  nav- 
igation he  arrived  at  an  Indian  ranch  of  the  Caribs,  and  there 
found  out  that  a  Hollander  by  the  name  of  John  Baptist  used 
to  come  and  visit  another  ranch  of  Caribs,  and  he  sent  from 
there  the  pilot,  directing  him  that  in  the  event  of  finding  said 
Hollander  in  that  ranch  to  notify  his  party,  as  it  was  done  on 
the  following  day,  when  the  Hollander  was  apprehended,  with- 
out opposing  au}^  resistance  to  follow  them  as  far  as  the  site 
where  they  found  the  house  that  they  had  placed  as  a  limit ; 


20 

that  tliev  iriado  a  stop  in  or<ler  to  ivach  it  Ity  niuht,  as  it  was 
done  at  seven  or  eight  o'clock  ;  tiuit  tlieir  approach  was  antici- 
pated by  the  barkinii;  of  a  dog;  that  on  account  of  that  cir- 
cumstance they  entered  tlie  house  in  haste  to  secure  the  person 
of  the  Hollander,  who  seemed  to  l)e  lyinu"  down  on  a  ham- 
mock and  was  already  standing,  at  the  time  of  being  seized 
by  a  soldier;  Francisco  Rob.lez  fired  a  pistol  shot,  which  caused 
him  to  a<ldress  the  said  Roblez  the  words:  "This  dog  has 
killed  me;"'  that  hearing  at  the  same  time  three  shots  more 
he  ascertained  that  one  of  tliem  was  fired  by  a  soldier  called 
Pedro  at  a  negro  who  was  running  away,  and  the  otlici'  shot 
was  fii'cMl  by  Don  Santiago  Honalde  without  knowing  how  or 
at  whom  :  that  the  other  shot,  he  never  knew  who  fired  it; 
that  he  found  out  through  the  inter[)reter  that  the  said  Ifol- 
latuler  thought  that  they  were  Caribs,  and  for  that  reason  he 
fired,  and  the  wounded  man  could  not  give  any  explanation. 

5.  In  regard  to  this  chapter,  he  tried  to  find  out  whether  the}'' 
had  some  Poytos, or  other  ranches;  that  none  were  found,  nor 
any  news  of  having  an}'  either  up  or  down  the  river. 

6.  That  this  chapter  Avas  carried  out  as  it  is,  without  doing 
anything  to  the  contrary. 

7.  That  in  regard  to  the  seventh  cha})ter,  they  found  no 
Indian  there  by  the  name  of  Tanuito,  nor  any  other  employed 
in  taking  Indians  to  make  them  slaves. 

8.  That  in  regard  to  this  chapter  he  said:  That  there  was 
nobody  against  whom  to  take  any  precautions,  as  nobody  was 
found. 

In  regard  to  tlio  last  chapter,  be  said  :  That  everything 
was  carried  out  as  directed,  with  the  greatest  zeal  for  the  sei"- 
vice  of  both  Majesties;  and  that  in  regard  to  ransoms,  they 
found  only  twelve  dozens  of  knives,  seven  of  hatcliets.  lliree 
kettles,  five  muskets,  three  pistols,  and  a  large  number  ol'  cloth 
remnants,  that  were  distributed  among  the  Caribs  accom])any- 
iiig  the  party,  and  the  distribution  was  made  l)y  his  comrade, 
who  was  the  princi[)al  chief,  and  likewise  a  few  papers  which 
were  taken  and  delivered  to  the  Knsign,  Don  Felix  Ferreras ; 
that  it  t(jok  twenty-two  days  to  make  the  return  journey  to  the 
Mission  from  where  they  had  started  ;  and  that  he  has  nothing 


21 

else  to  depose  on  the  subject,  and  thus  ended  his  statement,  in 
which  lie  affirms  himself  and  ratifies,  and  if  necessary  will 
renew  the  same  undfu-  his  oath ;  that  he  is  thirty-three  years 
old,  and  signs  herewith  with  his  Honor  and  the  witnesses  who 
certify  to  the  act. 

Juan  Valdes. 

Luis  Lopez  de  la  Puente. 

Luis  de  Aleman. 

Francisco  Xavier  Filgueyra 

AND  Garcia. 


3.  On  the  same  day,  month  and  year,  in  compliance  with 
the  preceding  rule  of  his  Honor,  the  Commander,  it  appeared 
before  him  and  the  witnesses  of  this  act  Juan  Jose  Fragas,  a 
military  man  of  this  castle,  who  was  duly  sw^orn  by  his  Honor 
in  due  form,  and  under  the  strength  of  his  oath  he  promised 
to  tell  the  truth  of  all  that  he  might  know  and  were  interro- 
gated, and  having  been  questioned  by  his  Honor,  he  answered 
about  the  time  of  departure  following  the  expedition,  the 
point  of  destination  reached  by  his  company  and  the  events 
of  the  expedition,  saying:  That  he  left  the  settlement  of 
Yuruario  under  the  command  of  Don  Santiago  Bonalde  and 
Don  Luis  Lopez  de  la  Puente,  at  the  head  of  the  party,  and 
followed  them  down  to  a  certain  place  (the  name  of  which  he 
does  not  recollect),  where  they  met  a  white  Hollander,  who, 
without  resistance  nor  attempt  to  run  away,  let  us  apprehend 
him,  and  fro!n  thence  they  left,  in  company  with  some  Indian 
Caribs,  until  they  reached  the  ranch  they  had  in  said  river 
Coyuni ;  that  before  reaching  there  the  chiefs  in  command 
stopped  cautiously  at  a  place,  in  the  immediate  neighborhood 
of  said  ranch,  and  there  awaited  until  seven  or  eight  o'clock 
of  the  evening,  when  they  advanced  toward  said  hut,  where 
they  met  a  white  Hollander  and  a  negro  that  seemingly  was 
lying  in  a  hammock,  and  at  the  rumor  of  the  barking  of  a 
dog  he  rose,  and  having  been  assailed  by  all  at  once,  so  as  to 
secure  his  person,  I  heard  the  firing  of  four  musket  shots 
without  knowing  then  who  fired  them,  and  he  could  only  un- 


22 

derstand  (wlifii  he  saw  it)  that  one  ot'  the  shots  wsa  fired  by 
the  niihtarv  man  Pe(ln>  de  Rojas,  outside  of  the  house,  aiming 
at  a  negro,  who  was  found  in  company  of  the  Holhmder^ 
because  lie  ran  away,  and  after  they  had  all  quieted  from  the 
first  assault,  he  heard  Don  Santiago  Bonalde  say  that  when 
he  left  the  boat  he  had  cocked  the  two  triggers,  and  one  of 
them  M'ent  off,  in  the  act  of  apprehending  the  said  Hollan- 
der, and  that  he  did  not  know  whethei-  it  had  l)een  himself 
the  author  of  the  death  occurred  ;  tluit  in  regard  to  whether 
there  are  or  not  other  ranches,  he  does  not  know  of  any ;  and 
that  from  the  Cuyuni  river  they  returned  to  the  Mission 
wherefrom  they  had  departed,  taking  twenty-two  days  on  their 
way  back  ;  that  he  has  nothing  else  to  say  than  what  he  has 
already  answered  under  oath,  and  that  ho  ratifies  and  will 
re})eat  it  over  if  necessary;  that  he  is  twenty-four  years 
old,  and  signs  with  Ins  Honor  and  the  witnessses  who  certify 
to  this  act. 

Juan  Valdes. 

Juan  Jose  Fragas. 

Luis  de  Alemax. 

Francisco  Xavier  Filgueyra 

AVI)  Garcia. 


4.  In  the  city  of  Guayana,  on  the  second  day  of  November, 
1758,  in  order  to  carry  out  the  preceding  rule,  a[)[)eared  before 
his  Honor  the  Commander,  Don  Juan^.Valdes,  and  witnesses^ 
the  military  man,  Segundo  do  la  Cruz,  whom  his  Honor  had 
duly  sworn,  and  promised  to  toll  the  truth  of  all  tliat  he  knew 
and  was  to  be  questioned.  He  was  asked  wherefrom  did  he  de- 
part on  the  secret  exi)edition  and  where  he  went  with  his  com- 
pan}',  whom  he  met  and  whether  they  apprehended  anybody, 
and  what  the  events  were  on  that  journey,  and  he  answered  : 
That  he  left  the  settlement  of  Yuruario,  in  company  with  the 
troops  commanded  by  Don  Santiago  Bonalde,  the  first  chief, 
and  Don  Luis  Lopez  de  la  Puente,  tlie  second  ;  that  he  followed 
them  down  to  a  place  (the  name  of  which  he  does  not  know)  and 
there  apprehended  a  white  Hollander,  who  made  no  resist- 
ance, and   was  carried  in  his  company  until  they  reached  a 


23 

ranch  in  which  another  Hollander  resided  ;  that  they  assailed 
the  place  all  at  once,  because  they  were  heard,  on  account  of  the 
barking  of  a  little  dog  found  there ;  that  there  were  several 
shots,  one  of  which  killed  a  companion  and  badly  wounded 
the  deponent  in  his  arm,  wliich  is  paralyzed,  and  that  he  does 
not  know  who  fired,  on  account  of  the  obscurity,  but  heard 
saying,  while  suffering  pain,  that  Don  Santiago  Bonalde's 
gun  went  off  on  account  of  one  of  the  triggers  having  been 
cocked,  it  was  a  double  barreled  musket,  and  he  did  not  know 
whether  any  harm  had  been  done.  He  affirms  his  statement 
that  said  Hollander  did  not  fire,  nor  were  any  arms  found  with 
him,  as  he  was  the  first  that  seized  him  by  the  breast,  and  that  in 
regard  to  the  other  shots  he  can  not  give  any  explanation,  for 
the  reasons  already  explained  of  having  been  wounded  ;  that 
he  does  not  know  anything  else  on  the  sul>ject,  beyond  what  he 
has  already  asserted  under  oath,  and  that  he  will,  if  necessary, 
repeat  again  ;  that  he  is  twenty -five  years  old,  and  did  not  sign, 
as  he  did  not  know  how.  His  Honor  signed  with  the  witnesses 
of  the  act,  and  certifies  to  the  same. 

Juan  Valdes. 

Luis  de  Aleman. 

Francisco  Xavier  Filgueyra 

Garcia. 


5.  In  the  said  city  of  Guayana,  on  the  same  day,  month 
and  year,  pursuing  the  same  investigation,  appeared  before  his 
Honor  Don  Juan  Valdes,  Castillian  Captain  of  His  Majesty, 
another  witness  summoned  to  appear,  the  military  man  Pedro 
Arochy,  who,  being  duly  sworn,  promised  to  tell  the  truth  of 
all  he  knew,  and  was  questioned,  and  having  been  asked 
wherefrom  he  departed,  with  what  people  and  in  virtue  of 
what  order,  for  what  purpose  and  where  did  he  go,  and  whom 
he  met,  what  houses  he  saw  and  what  events  took  place,  he 
said:  That  he  left  the  settlement  of  Yuruario  in  company 
with  the  other  military  men  (the  number  he  does  not  know) 
in  virtue  of  orders  made  known  to  him  by  the  Ensign  of  In- 
fantry, Don  Felix  Ferreras,  and  Don  Santiago  Bonalde,  first 


24 

chief,  and  Don  Luis  Lopez  du  la  ]*ucnte,  second  ;  tliat  he 
knew  they  were  ordered  to  apprehend  a  few  Hollanders,  and 
descended  the  river  Cuyuni  ;  that  they  found  a  Hollander 
who  made  no  resistJincc  wlion  a})prelK'nd(Ml,  and  was  carried 
i)y  his  company  up  to  the-  nei^ldjorhood  of  a  little  ranch, 
"where  they  awaited  the  night  in  order  to  advance,  following 
the  order  of  the  chiefs  as  it  was  carried  out,  hetween  seven 
and  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening;  that  there  were  a  few  shots 
iii'e(l  in  the  disorder  in  which  the  advance  was  made,  and 
that  he  is  not  aware  who  were  those  who  fired  the  same  nor 
who  killed  the  man  who  died,  nor  who  wounded  the  other  j 
he  lieard  Don  Santiago  Bonalde  say  that  his  gun  went  off  and 
that  it  might  have  been  the  cause  of  the  mischief;  and  he 
heard  somebody  else  among  the  soldiers  say  that  he  fired  his 
blunderbuss  in  the  air,  and  that  was  outside  of  the  ranch  ; 
that  he  knows  that  no  arms  were  found  with  said  Hollander, 
nor  did  he  fire  any ;  that  he  had  no  news  of  any  other  ranch 
u[)  or  down  the  river;  that  he  came  back  to  the  Mission 
from  which  he  departed,  taking  twenty-two  days  on  his  return, 
suffering  many  hardships ;  that  he  has  nothing  else  to  say 
about  the  matter,  and  that  he  has  stated  the  truth  under  his 
oath,  and  will  be  ready  to  repeat  it  if  necessary  before  any 
other  tribunal ;  that  he  is  twenty-eight  years  old,  and  does  not 
sign,  as  he  does  not  know  how  to  do  so. 

His  Honor  signs,  and  the  witnesses  of  the  act  certify  to  it. 

Juan  Valdes. 

Luis  de  Alemax. 

FrvANCisco  Xavier   Filgueyra. 


Rule. — Appearing  from  the  above  affidavits  by  the  two  chiefs 
commissioned  for  the  secret  expedition,  that  certain  papers  and 
instructions  were  taken  from  the  above-mentioned  Hollanders, 
and  being  known  they  were  delivered  to  the  Ensign  of  In- 
fantry, Don  Felix  Ferreras,  commander  ad  interim  at  this 
place,  his  Honor  ought  to  order  and  does  order  that  he  be  noti- 
fied and  requested  to  exhil)it  said  documents  and  papers. 


25 

It  was  so  ruled,  and  his  Honor  signed  the  same  in  the  city 
of  Guayana  on  the  2d  day  of  November,  1758,  under  his  cer- 
tificate. 

Valdes. 

Luis  de  Alemax. 

Francisco  Xavier  Filgueyra  y  Garcia. 


Immediately  afterwards  said  witnesses  called  at  the  house 
of  the  Ensign  of  Infantry,  Don  Felix  Ferreras,  and  notified  him 
of  the  preceding  rule,  and  in  compliance  he  exhibited  and 
delivered  to  us  four  papers  written  in  the  Dutch  language, 
and  one  which  he  said  was  the  Castillian  translation,  all  of 
which  facts  we  certify. 

Luis  de  Aleman. 

Francisco  Xavier  Filgueyra  y  Garcia. 


Ride. — In  the  city  of  Santo  Thome  de  Guayana,  on  the  2d 
day  of  the  month  of  November  of  the  year  1758,  his  Honor, 
•the  Commander  Don  Juan  Valdes,  said  :  That  as  the  papers 
had  been  exhibited  in  the  Dutch  language  with  a  translation 
delivered  by  the  Ensign  of  Infantry,  Don  Felix  Ferreras,  he 
•ought  to  rule,  and  does  rule,  that  the  same  be  added  to  these 
proceedings,  first  taking  the  affidavit  under  oath,  according  to 
the  creed  of  the  two  Hollanders  kept  imprisoned  in  the  castle 
•of  San  Francisco  de  Asis,  bringing  them  under  a  proper  cus- 
tody to  the  presence  of  his  Honor,  and  as  they  are  not  conver- 
.sant  with  the  Spanish  language,  he  ought  to  appoint,  and  does 
appoint,  as  an  interpreter  for  both  of  said  Hollanders,  the 
Artillery  Sergeant,  Juan  Andres  de  la  Rivera,  so  that  he  will 
make  the  inquiries  of  the  Commander  and  answer  clearly  and 
distinctly  what  they  say,  without  going  into  explanations  of 
ihe  terms  used.  He  will  be  notified  for  his  acceptance  and 
sworn  before  his  Honor,  the  Commander,  that  he  will  faithfully 
.and  legally  interpret,  according  to  the  above  statements,  with- 
out fraud  or  deceit,  and  will  observe  the  actions  and  motions 
in  the  way  of  rendering  their  affidavits,  the  said  two  Holland- 
ers, and  whether  they  contradict  each  other,  and  will  warn  his 


26 

JloiKir,  the  ('i)iiiiii;ui(l('i',  lor  his  better  goveniinent  and  mode 
of  iiujuirv,  and  will  kcrj)  in  all  the  best  method  necessary  ta 
tinil  out  the  real  facts. 

It  was  so  ruled,  signed,  and  certitied  by  his  Jtonor. 

Juan  Valdes. 

Luis  Aleman. 

Francisco  Xavier  Filgueyra  y  Garcia. 


Notification. — Tnimodiately  afterwards  the  aforesaid  witnesses 
appointed  by  his  Honor  called  at  the  residence  of  the  Artillery 
Sergeant,  Juan  Andres  de  la  Rivera,  and  notified  him  of  his 
appointment  as  an  interpreter,  by  the  preceding  rule  of  the 
Commander,  for  the  two  affidavits  to  be  received  trom  the  two 
Hollanders,  and  after  being  notified,  he  said  that  he  accepted 
and  did  accept,  and  we  certify  to  the  fact. 

Luis  DE  Aleman. 

Francisco  Xaviek  Filgueyra  y'  Garcia. 

Tn  the  above-mentioned  city  of  Guayana,  on  the  3d  day  of 
tlu'  sanic!  month  and  year  ([uoted,  his  Honor,  the  Commander,, 
and  the  witnesses  of  this  proecL'ding  received  the  Artillery 
Sergeant,  Juan  Andres  de  la  Rivera,  who,  after  being  notified 
of  the  above  rule,  accepted,  and  was  sworn  in  due  form  and 
promised  to  faithfully  and  lawfully  interpret  the  two  affi- 
davits to  be  taken  fioni  the  two  Hollanders,  and  signed,  with 
his  Honor  and  witnesses  certifying  to  the  act. 

Juan  Valdes. 

Juan  Andres  de  la  Rivera. 

Luis  de  Aleman. 

Francisco  Xavier  Filgueyra, 


Confirmation. —  In  the  same  city  of  Guayana,  on  the  3d  day 
of  November,  in  the  year  1758,  Don  .luan  Valdes,  Castilliau 
Captain  of  His  Majesty,  made  aj){)ear  before  him  and  witnesses 
one  of  the  two  Hollanders  now  imprisoned  in  the  castle  of  San 
Franc  isco  de  Asis,  and,  after  being  sworn  according  to  the  rite 


27 

of  his  religion  (he  said  he  was  a  Lutheran),  he  raised  two  fingers- 
of  his  right  hand,  and  was  examined  as  follows : 

1.  Asked  wherefroni  he  was  a  native,  his  name,  and  occupa- 
tion, he  answered:  That  he  is  a  native  of  the  States  of  Hol- 
land and  his  name  is  Stephen  Hiz,  and  a  laborer  in  mines. 

2.  Asked  what  he  was  doing  in  those  places,  he  answered  :. 
That  he  was  placed  there  by  the  Governor  of  Esquivo  as  the 
head  of  a  fixed  guard  kept  there. 

3.  Asked  how  many  men  composed  the  guard  and  the  rea- 
son why  he  occupied  that  post,  he  answered  :  That  the  guard 
is  composed  of  four  men,  including  the  two  white  Hollanders- 
and  two  Indians,  and  that  he  keeps  there  in  order  to  appre- 
hend the  negro  fugitive  slaves  leaving  the  Colony  of  Esquivo 
and  to  restrain  the  Carib  tribes,  so  as  to  prevent  them  from 
making  any  mischief,  either  to  said  Colony  or  the  neighbor- 
ing Spaniards  or  to  the  domestic  Indians,  as  shown  by  the 
chapter  of  the  instruction  that  was  seized  from  him  by  the 
chief  of  the  Spaniards  who  apprehended  him. 

4.  Asked  why  he  took  arms  against  the  Spaniards  and  fired 
on  them,  he  answered :  That  he  had  done  neither  one  nor  the 
other,  nor  could  he  do  so,  as  he  w^as  alone  and  the  Spanish 
people  were  too  many,  and  that  when  they  advanced  towards 
the  house  he  was  actually  asleep  in  a  hammock  and  at  the 
trampling  and  noise  made  he  awoke,  atten^pting  to  get  up  and 
run  away,  thinking  that  they  were  Caribs,  and  in  his  surprise 
and  fright  he  did  not  do  so,  nor  did  the  Spaniards  allow  him 
to  do  so,  as  he  was  immediately  seized  and  tied. 

5.  Asked  how  it  was  that  if  he  did  not  fire,  a  Spaniard  was 
killed  and  another  badly  wounded,  he  answered  :  That  he  is 
persuaded  that  the  Spaniard  was  killed  by  his  own  com- 
panions, and  that  the  other  was  likewise  wounded  in  the  act 
of  entering  and  trying  to  tie  him,  when  the  Spaniards  com- 
menced to  fire  within  his  house. 

6.  Asked  what  arms  and  defence  they  had  in  that  post  and 
what  is  the  name  of  it  and  what  river  is  near  by,  he  answered  : 
He  had  five  muskets,  three  sabers,  three  pistols,  a  flask  of 
powder,  and  piece  of  lead  for  ammunition,  and  of  these  arras 
only  two  muskets  were   his  own   property  and  the  rest  were^ 


28 

I'uniislifil  by  the  Company  ;   tliat  the  post  is  calk'd  Cuiba  and 
close  to  the  banks  of  tlie  river  Cuyuni. 

7.  Asked  what  ^-ood.s  or  ransoms  were  seized  In'  tlie  Spaniards 
when  be  was  apprebiMided,  and  if  lie  bad  tbem  for  tbe  pur})ose 
of  ne<i:otiations  and  purcbases,  he  answered:  Tbat  tliey  seized 
fourteen  (b)zens  of  knives,  eighteen  pieces  of  iron  utensils  like 
hatchets,  niacbetes,  and  two  i)ieees  of  calico,  nine  bundles  of 
glass  beads,  and  a  dozen  small  looking  glasses,  twenty-four 
yards  of  skirting,  twenty  of  coarse  blue  clotli,  all  for  tbe  pur- 
chase and  maintenance. 

8.  Asked  how  long  had  he  l)een  kept  tliere  and  wliat  bad 
become  of  tbe  farms,  bow  did  be  carry  out  bis  tra<le,  be  an- 
swered: That  it  was  eight  months  since  he  came  there  qs  a 
head  man,  and  was  commencing  to  till  a  short  {)iece  of  ground 
so  as  to  plant  it  with  tbe  yuca  or  ta})ioca  plant,  and  has  not 
carried  out  his  trade. 

9.  Asked  whether  they  bad  given  him  goods  for  the  pur- 
chase of  Poytos  and  how  many  had  he  sent  to  the  Colony  of 
Es([uivo,  he  answered  :  Tbat  in  tbe  short  time  tbat  he  had 
been  there  he  had  not  made  any  such  purcbases,  nor  had  he 
been  given  any  ransoms  for  tbem  ;  tbat  be  had  only  in  his 
charge  the  collection  of  wbat  was  due  to  bis  predecessor,  as  it 
will  appear  by  the  said  |)apers. 

10.  Asked  how  far  is  said  post  from  the  Colony  of  Esquivo, 
1k'  answered  :  It  is  only  a  .short  distance,  although  they  take 
three  natural  days  to  make  it,  as  it  is  only  navigable  in  kee})- 
ing  with  tbe  tides,  and  tbe  navigation  is  performed  through 
creeks. 

11.  Asked  if  be  knew  tliose  countries,  wbcre  be  was  found, 
belong  to  the  jurisdiction  of  Esquivo,  and  if  for  many  years 
they  have  kept  those  posts,  he  answered:  That  he  does  not 
know  whether  it  is  or  not  under  tbe  jurisdiction  of  Esquivo, 
and  tbat  for  many  years  tbey  kei)t  tbe  i)ost  in  tbat  ])lace. 

12.  A.sked  if  said  site  is  fit  for  tbe  cultivation  of  cane  and 
other  plants,  he  answered :  That  they  are  not  fit  for  that  pur- 
pose, as  they  are  swampy,  but  where  the  [)Ost  is  maintained, 
.jimi  fartber  uj)wards,  tbere  are  places  fit  for  tbe   cultivation  of 


29 

said  plants,  Ijut  there  is  an  express  order  from  the  Governor  to- 
prevent  the  passage  upwards  to  any  person  whatever. 

13.  Asked  whether  the  negro  who  is  in  his  company  in  the 
prison  is  a  shive,  he  answered  :  No  ;  but  he  is  bound  and  dedi- 
cated to  servile  occupations  under  the  company  who  keeps  him 
there. 

14.  Asked  what  other  order  he  had  and  what  other  trade  he 
kept  and  what  general  news  he  knew  about  there,  he  an- 
swered :  Tliat  he  does  not  know,  nor  any  news;  that  that  is 
the  tratli  under  his  oath,  according  to  his  religious  laith,  and 
that  he  aihrms  and  ratifies  his  statement  and  will  make  it 
again  if  needed  ;  that  he  is  forty-eight  years  old  and  signs 
with  his  Honor,  after  being  duly  certified. 

JuAX  Valdes. 

Stephen  Hit. 

Luis  de  Alemax. 

Francisco  Xavier  Filgueyra  y  Garcia. 


Confirmation. — On  the  same  day,  month,  and  year,  in  the 
same  city  of  San  Thome  de  GuaA'ana,  his  Honor  caused  the 
appearance  before  him  and  the  witnesses  for  these  acts,  under 
a  proper  custody,  of  Juan  Bajjtist  Brum,  whom  his  Honor  had 
sworn  in  due  form  according  to  his  faith,  by  raising  two  fingers 
of  his  right  hand  and  promising  to  tell  the  truth  of  what  he 
knew  and  were  asked  of  him,  and  having  been  asked  by  said 
Commander,  through  the  interpreter,  he  answered  the  follow- 
ing questions? 

1.  What  is  your  name?  Where  are  ^^ou  a  native  from? 
Where  is  your  residence  ?  What  is  your  trade?  And  he  an- 
swered: That  his  name  was  John  Baptist  Brum,  a  native  of 
the  States  of  Flanders,  and  a  resident  in  the  Colony  of 
Esc|uivo ;  that  he  is  a  tailor  by  trade. 

2.  Asked  what  he  was  doing  in  those  places,  he  answered  : 
That  he  was  there  as  a  soldier  of  the  post,  placed  by  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Esquivo,  under  Stephen  Hiz,  the  head  of  said  post. 

3.  Asked  what  reason  had  the  Governor  to  keep  a  guard 
there,  he  answered  :  In  order  to  apprehend  the  fugitive  negro 


30 

slaves  will)  run  away  Irom  the  CdIoiiv  and  to  })revent  the 
Carib  trihr  from  making-  any  mischiet'  to  the  douiesticated 
Indians. 

4.  Asked  what  reason  he  had  to  be  away  from  the  site  where 
the  Post  is  kept,  at  two  days  distance,  as  stated  by  the  Spaniards 
who  apprehended  him,  he  answered:  That  by  the  direction 
of  his  superior  he  had  come  to  said  place  in  quest  of  a  few 
Indians  to  help  the  work  of  a  farm  they  were  opening,  and 
that  shoi'tly  after  being  there  the  Spaniards  arrived  and  tied 
him,  without  his  o[)posing  any  resistance  or  defence,  and  was 
carried  away  in  their  company  up  to  the  neighborhood  of  the 
house  he  had. 

").  Asked  whether  he  knew  or  has  any  notion  of  who  wounded 
one  of  the  S])anish  soldiers  and  who  killed  the  other,  he  an- 
swered:  That  he  knew  nothing,  and  could  give  no  account  of 
anything,  as  he  was  left  behind  and  tied  up  at  a  distance  from 
the  house  within  a  gunshot,  when  they  advanced,  and  from 
there  he  had  to  continue  the  way  under  said  Spaniards  to 
this  city. 

().  Asked  what  arms  and  defences  they  had,  he  answered  : 
That  only  five  musket.s,  belonging  to  the  Company  of  E.squivo. 

7.  Asked  what  was  the  name  of  the  site  where  he  had  his 
ranch,  and  what  river  is  near  the  same,  he  answered:  That 
the  site  is  called  Cuiba,  and  empties  into  the  Ciiyuni  river. 

5.  Asked  how  long  he  had  been  there  and  whether  he  had 
made  any  purchases  of  Poytos,  he  answered  :  That  he  had  been 
there  eight  montlis  and  never  had  anything  to  do  with  such 
jnirchases. 

!».  Asked  how  I'ar  is  it  from  that  site  of  Cuiljato  the  Esquivo 
Colony,  he  answere(l:  Three  days,  more  or  less,  being  under- 
stood that  the  navigation  (le})ends  on  the  tide,  and  is  made 
through  the  creeks  and  swamps. 

10.  Asked  whether  lie  knew  if  the  al)ove-mentioned  place 
is  within  tlie  jurisdiction  of  lvs(|nivo,  and  whether  the  Gov- 
ernor had  ke})t  that  guard  there  for  a  long  time,  ho  an- 
swered :  That  ho  did  not  know,  and  that  the  guard  had  been 
kept  there  for  many  years. 


31 

11.  Asked  whether  that  site  is  fit  for  farming,  he  answered  : 
ISIo,  on  account  of  its  being  swampy  Land,  but  that  in  the  upper 
part  there  are  found  portions  of  good  hind,  Init  the  Governor 
does  not  allow  it  to  be  tilled  nor  permit  any  one  to  stay  there. 

12.  Asked  whether  the  negro  was  a  slave,  he  answered  :  No  ; 
but  he  was  placed  there  by  the  Esquivo  Company  and  is  bound 
to  serve  for  a  compensation. 

13.  Asked  what  other  trade  he  was  pursuing,  what  his  in- 
structions verbal  or  written  were  and  to  tell  the  truth,  he 
answered  :  That  he  does  not  know  or  had  any  knowledge  of 
anything  else,  except  what  he  had  stated  under  oath,  according 
to  his  faith,  and  which  he  ratifies  and  will  assert  again  if 
wanted ;  that  he  is  forty-eight  years  old,  and  is  not  able  to 
sign,  not  knowing  how  to  do  so. 

Signed  by  his  Honor  and  certified  by  the  witnesses  of  the 
act. 

Juan  Valdes. 
Luis  de  Aleman. 
Francisco  Xavier  Filgueyra 
AND  Garcia. 


Translation. — Translation  made  and  signed  by  me.  Sergeant 
Juan  Andres  de  la  Rivera,  in  virtue  of  my  appointment  by  His 
Honor,  the  Commander  ad  interim,  of  this  place,  of  the  instru- 
ment of  ordinance  for  the  Post  or  guard  kept  at  the  Cuyuni 
river  by  a  party  of  the  States  General,  written  in  the  Dutch 
language,  and  delivered  to  me  by  the  present  Notary  Public, 
the  tenor  of  which  is  literally  as  follows: 

Article  1st.  The  head  of  said  Post  or  guard,  according  to  our 
absolute  command,  must  show  every  friendly  distinction  to 
the  neighboring  Indian  tribes,  and  if  they  require  any  help 
against  the  wild  tribes,  the  guard  or  Post  will  be  bound  to 
render  them  help. 

2.  The  head  of  said  Post  will  be  careful  not  to  allow  any 
harm  to  be  done  to  the  Spaniards,  who  are  our  friends,  and  in 
everything  they  will  keep  in  correspondence  and  good  terms 


32 

witli  them,  but  must  lie  careful  that  in  casotlie  said  Spaniards 
sliould  want  to  cross  tlieCuyuni  river,  or  any  of  the  lands  of 
our  Colony  and  give  us  any  trouble,  the  head  of  said  Post  or 
guard  sliall  immediately  send  a  man  with  the  news  to  the  Castle 
of  the  Governor. 

3.  The  head  of  said  Post  or  guard  will  not  allow  any  com- 
merce to  be  carried  out,  except  in  the  river  or  in  the  surround- 
ings wlicn  well  j)rovide<l  with  special  passports,  in  which  case 
he  will  allow  them  a  permit;  but  if  any  Indians  go  across  the 
Post,  while  coming  down  the  Ksquivo  river  or  going  up  the 
same,  and  said  Indians  are  carrying  along  Chinese  slaves,  or 
any  merchandise  to  buy  the  same,  it  will  be  the  duty  of  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Esquivo  river  to  allow  them,  and  those 
of  all  the  other  tribes,  to  pass  without  l)eing  molested. 

4.  It  will  be  the  duty  of  the  head  of  the  Post  to  be  very  care- 
ful in  stopping  any  runaway  slaves,  and  follow  and  appre- 
hend them,  in  order  to  restore  them  to  their  masters,  according 
to  the  directions  of  the  States  General,  allowing  ten  florins  a 
head  as  a  reward  to  the  head  of  the  Post  for  his  trouble. 

5.  If  there  are  any  slaves  belonging  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Esquivo  river,  who  run  away  and  their  masters  go  after 
them,  having  had  no  time  to  get  a  passport,  they  will  ])e  al- 
lowed to  pass  through  said  Post,  which  will  render  tiiem  eveiy 
possible  help  to  secure  the  recover}'  of  their  slaves. 

6.  The  noble  Company  alhnvs  the  Post  to  carry  on  ])usiness, 
on  their  own  account,  under  condition  that  in  everything  that 
they  purchase  they  allow  the  preference  to  the  Company,  who 
will  charge  the  same  price  for  good  goods. 

7.  The  Post  will  be  bound  to  collect  [all  del»ts  due  to  the 
l)revious  old  Post,  and  it  will  be  likewise  paid  at  the  rate  of 
ten  florins  a  head  and  a  florin  for|each  hammock,  and  of  every- 
thing purchased  notice  will  bo  given  to  the  Governor. 

8.  The  head  of  the  Post  is  likewise  bound  to  render  an  ac- 
count to  the  Governor,  twice  a  year,  and  must  reside  in  the 
Post  as  a  good  servant. 

Esquivo  river,  on  the  20th  day  of  November,  17')^ 

L<)i{i:\/.()  EsTOi!K>r  de  CJkavesaxde. 


33 

In  the  year  1747  of  the  transfer  of  accounts  to  the  former 
Postmaster  and  stock  of  the  same,  as  follows  : 

Nine  yards  of  coarse  cloth  to  buy  casave  (tapioca 
bread)  for  the  people  of  the  Post's  maintenance. 

Fifteen  knives  for  tlie  same. 

Eleven  knives  that  were  paid  to  the  Indians  for  carry- 
ing a  despatch  to  the  Governor. 

A  hatchet   and  short  broadsword  to  buy  a  curiara 
(small  Indian  boat). 

A  looking  glass  to  buy  casave. 

Four  yards  of  new  blue  cotton  cloth  to  buy  casave. 

Three  pieces  of  iron  utensils  to  buy  casave. 

Nine  yards  coarse  cloth  to  pay  the  Indians  for  carry- 
ing several  despatches. 

Eighteen  knives  for  casave. 

Nine  knives  for  casave. 

One  bundle  of  beads  for  casave. 

Eighteen  knives  to  pay  the  Indians  who  were  em- 
ployed by  the  Post. 

Tliree  pieces  of  iron  utensils  for  casave. 

Four  yards  of  coarse  cloth  for  casave. 

One  bundle  of  beads  for  casave. 

Four  knives  for  casave. 

Eight  yards  of  coarse  cloth  to  buy  palm  meal. 

Three  yards  of  coarse  cloth  for  casave. 

Four  looking  glasses  for  casave. 

Five  knives  for  casave. 

Six  coarse  combs  to  pay  the  Indians  for  an  errand  on 
behalf  of  the  post  master. 

Four  fine  combs  for  casave. 

Three  looking  glasses  to  pay  the  Indians  who  were 
sent  to  the  Governor. 

Eleven  knives  for  casave. 

List  of  debts  of  the  Master  of  the  Post  Tumfermant. 

Yiiv^no  owes  eight  slaves ....      8 

Tucui\uara  owes  three  slaves 3 

Arinamene  owes  three  slaves .     3 

Vol.  II,  Ven.— 3. 


34 

Mai'ayacano  owes  one  slave  1 

Aritamar  owes  two  slaves 2 

One  more  said   Seiior  Buzou  1 

Carinare  owes  two  slaves  to  the  Governor  2 

Cumuara  owes  two  slaves  more  to  tlic  <  Jovcrnor...  2 

Asavue  owes  one  to  the  son  of  the  (.iovernor 1 

Arinianaea  owes  two  slaves 2 

Manarvay  (»wes  two  slaves  2 

.Maiiarvay  owes  two  slaves  2 

Total 27 

IlcwimocJcs  due. 

Caysaniane  owes  three 3 

Manayro  owes  eight 8 

Canarua  owes  two  2 

Other  names  of  Carihs  can  not  In'  made  out  on 
account  of  the  paper  being  worn  out,  the  total 

sum  lieinir 37 


The  above  translation  has  been  made  from  the  ori^-inal 
J)uteh  instruction  and  ordinance,  having  been  duly  and  faith- 
fully nuide  into  Sj)anish  to  the  best  of  my  abilities,  under  my 
oath  of  otlict',  and  I  sign  the  same  in  the  City  of  Santo  Thome,, 
de  Guayana,  on  the  2()th  day  of  the  month  of  September,  sev- 
enteen hun(h\'d  and  hlty-eight. 

Juan  Andres  de  la  Uivera. 

Tn  this  city  of  Santo  Thome  de  Guayana,  on  the  fourth  day 
of  tiie  month  of  Novend)er,  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred 
and  hlty-eight,  Senor  Don  Juan  de  Dios  A'"aldes  said:  That 
having  finished  all  these  acts,  in  connection  witli  the  investi- 
gation required  by  the  Superior  Government  of  this  Province^ 
he  considers  that  lie  ought  to  rule,  and  does  rule,  that  the 
same  be  forwarded  originally  to  his  Honor  and  Captain  Gen- 
eral, together  with  the  two  prisoners,  the  Hollanders,  who  have 
rendered  their  statements,  under  a  regular  guard  of  four  men 
and  a  Sergeant  of  the  Garrison  of  this  Fortress,  with  an  order 


35 

to  be  issued  to  the  guard  of  the  Castle  of  Sau  Fraucisco  de 
Asis  to  deHver  them  to  Don  Juan  Jose  Fragas,  who  will  take 
said  Hollanders,  well  secured  in  irons,  to  be  carried  to  the 
presence  of  his  Honor,  according  to  the  full  instructions  on 
the  subject,  keeping  at  the  same  time  a  legalized  copy  of  all 
these  acts.  So  was  ruled  by  his  Honor,  who  signs  with  the 
witnesses  of  the  act  certifying  the  same. 

The  above  is  a  faithful  copy  of  the  original  acts  sent  to  the 
Superior  Government  of  these  Provinces,  from  wdiere  it  was 
drawn  by  the  Commander  above  named  in  forty-five  folios, 
written  in  common  pajier,  as  there  is  none  stamped  and 
sealed,  making  two  copies  of  the  same  tenor. 

Done  and  signed  in  Guayana,  on  the  fourth  day  of  Novem- 
ber, in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  fifty-eight,  and  certified 
by  the  witnesses  of  the  act. 

JuAX  Valdes  [here  is  a  flourish]. 

Luis  Aleman  [here  is  a  flourish]. 

Francisco  Xavier  Filgueira 

AND  Garcia  [here  is  a  flourish]. 

The  above  copy  agrees  with  the  original  document  existing 
in  the  General  Archive  of  Indias,  in  Stand  131,  Case  7,  Docket 
17.  Seville,  December  15th,  1890.  The  Chief  of  the  Archives, 
Carlos  Jimenez  Placer  [here  is  a  flourish].  Seal.  General 
Archive  of  the  Indies. 

The  undersigned,  Consul  General  of  Venezuela  in  Spain, 
certifies  the  authenticity  of  the  signature  of  Sehor  Carlos 
Jimenez  Placer,  Chief  of  the  General  x-Vrchives  of  the  Indies. 

Madrid,  30th  of  December,  1890. 

P.    FORTOULT    HURTADO. 

The  undersigned,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  of  the  United 
States  of  Venezuela,  certifies  to  the  authenticity  of  the  signa- 
ture of  Senor  Petro  Fortoult  Hurtado,  Consul  General  of 
Venezuela  at  the  preceding  date. 

Caracas,  March  6th,  1896. 

[seal.]  P.  Ezequiel  Rojas. 

Ministrv  of  Foreign  Affairs. 


36 
No.   0. 

['I'ninslation.] 

Stand    IHl. — Case  7. — Docket   17. 

General   Archive    of    Indies. — (Seville. 


DOCUMENT  No.  4. 


17<»1. — Testimony  in  roj^ard  to  the  i»ro<'oo(lin}»s  institntetl 
about  the  seizure  of  one  schooner,  tAvo  launches,  and 
two  curiaras  (small  Indian  boats),  from  the  Esquivo 
Colonies  by  Tjieutenent  of  Infantry  Don  Juan  de  Dios 
Gonzales  de  Flores. 

(This  document  came,  together  with  a  letter.  No.  ]?,,  of  the  Commander  of  the 
Guayana,  Don  Manuel  Centurion,  dated  April  5th,  1770.) 


Fonnino-  part  of  the  jiroccodiiig.s  instituted  on  necount  of 
the  ehiiiii  of  the  Mini.^ter  of  Holland,  complaining  ot  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Spaniards  of  the  Orinoco  against  the  Esquivo 
Colony. 

Don  Juan  de  Dios  Valdes,  Castillian  Captain,  by  His  Majesty, 
General  Judge  for  tlie  revenues  of  this  Province  of  Guayana 
and  Commander  of  the  arms  of  the  same,  etc. 
Whereas,  on   account    of  a  rejjort    received  from  the  Mo.st 
Reverend  Prefect  of  the  Missions  of  ll)is  Province,  I  iiave  be- 
come aware  of  the   information   received    by   him  from   four 
fugitiv(!   Poyto  Indians  about  the  tyrannic  power  of  the  Hol- 
landers iiiiiabiting   the  neighl)oring  Colonies  of  E.sr|uivo  and 
Surinam,  at  the  mouth  of  thci  Barima  creek,  coming  out  from 
this  river,  where  five  Hollanders  from  said  colony  are  staying 
and  carrying  out  the  inhuman  and  lucrative  commerce  they 
maintain  with  tlicwild  Indian  tribes  who  trade  in  the  Orinoco, 


37 

buying  from  them  the  infidels  taken  in  their  wars,  making 
them  prisoners  and  trading  them  for  iron  utensils,  clothing, 
and  munitions  of  war;  and  as  said  Hollanders  are  awaiting 
for  a  party  of  Indians,  they  have  sent  Garib  agents  to  purchase 
said  Indians  and  bring  them  to  their  Colony. 

Sucb  an  illicit  traffic  in  human  beings  is  already  going  on. 
The  four  Indians  who  escaped  were  included  as  victims  and 
came  in  quest  of  protection  to  tbe  said  Missions.  As  the  serv- 
ice of  our  Lord  and  of  His  Catholic  Majesty  requires  the  stop- 
ping of  this  illicit  trade  and  the  punishment  of  the  Hollanders 
of  the  above-mentioned  Colony,  who  possessed  them  in  their 
own  country  (if  they  had  any  right  for  this  kind  of  possession), 
they  ought  not  to  be  allowed  to  communicate  through  the 
rivers  and  dominions  of  the  King.  Therefore,  in  virtue  of  the 
powers  granted  to  me,  I  order  and  command  that  the  Lieu- 
tenant of  Infantry  and  second  officer  of  this  place,  Don  Juan  de 
Dios  Gonzales  de  Flores,  without  any  delay  whatever,  depart 
on  board  the  Royal  vessel  that  he  will  find  in  Port  Royal  with  a 
crew  of  ten  men  and  manned  in  the  ordinary  way,  armed  with 
two  light  guns,  and  the  necessary  stores  for  twenty  days.  He 
will  take  Spanish  river  pilots  and  the  fugitive  Indians,  and  go 
to  the  place  where  said  Hollanders  are  staying.  He  will  pro- 
ceed straightway,  navigating  night  and  day,  and  as  soon  as  he 
reaches  the  place,  he  will  attack  the  ranch,  after  having  sur- 
rounded it.  He  will  imprison  the  Hollanders,  French,  and 
Spaniards  found  there,  at  the  words,  "  Long  live  the  King  !  " 
and  will  employ  his  arms  in  punishing  and  apprehending  the 
same  persons,  as  well  as  the  Caribs  that  he  may  find  in  their 
company,  carrying  out  this  inhuman  trade.  He  will  likewise 
seize  every  vessel  he  may  meet,  going  up  or  down  the  river, 
and  the  foreigners  as  well  as  Spaniards  unprovided  with  the 
lawful  and  proper  papers  of  navigation.  The  masters  and 
crews  of  the  same  will  be  brought  along  to  this  place,  well  se- 
cured. The  full  cargoes  as  well,  without  allowing  the  least 
fraud  or  disorder  by  the  troops  of  his  command.  It  is  ex- 
pected from  his  fidelity  and  zeal  a  satisfactory  discharge  of 
his  duty  ;  that  no  doubt  it  will  be  performed  with  the  greatest 
zeal  for  the  Royal  service  and  personal  disinterestedness,  avail- 


38 

iiio-  liiinselfof  his  good  judgment  and  experience.     I  grant  him 
all  the  })owers  necessary  for  the  best  service  of  both  Majesties. 

Dated  at  Guayana,on  the  seventh  day  of  the  month  of  Sep- 
tember, in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty. 

Juan  Valdes. 


Itide. — In  the  city  of  San  Thome  de  la  Guayana,  on  the 
twenty-seventh  day  of  the  month  of  September,  in  the  year 
seventeen  huiKlrcd  and  sixty,  Don  .Juan  de  Dios  ^^lIdes, 
Castillian,  Caj)tain  of  his  ]\Lnjesty,  and  Don  Lorenzo  Coronado, 
Lieutenant  Royal  Officer,  said  that  the  war  schooner  command- 
ed by  Lieutenant  of  Lifantr}',  Don  Juan,  de  Dios  de  Flores. 
has  just  arrived  at  the  principal  port  of  this  city  ;  that  he  was 
sent  in  order  to  stop  the  inhuman  commerce  of  the  Hollanders 
and  Carib  Lidians,  in  the  sale  of  human  beings,  from  the  other 
gentile  tribes,  seizing  them  in  war  and  reducing  them  to 
slavery,  at  the  price  paid  by  said  Hollanders,  of  a  few  ransoms 
or  trifles.  That  this  information  was  conveyed  to  the  Com- 
mander by  the  most  Reverend  Father  Prefect  of  these  Missions, 
through  four  fugitive  Indian  Poytos,  who  asserted  that  the 
Hollanders  with  some  merchandise  were  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Barima  creek,  as  it  is  stated,  at  the  head  of  tliis  act.  As  a 
consequence,  said  Lieutenant  Don  Juan  de  Flores  has  seized 
and  brought  along  with  him  a  scliooner  and  two  launches 
wliich  were  anchored  under  the  artillery  of  the  Castle  of  San 
Francisco  de  Asis,  which  is  the  chief  port  of  this  city.  In  order 
to  take  the  necessary  steps,  the  visit  of  said  vessels  will  be 
ordered,  therefore  they  ought  to  command  and  did  command 
the  .search  of  said  vessels,  in  the  presence  of  the  Notary  Public 
for  this  act,  taking  an  inventory  of  the  cases,  trunks  or  other 
things  on  board,  and  making  a  full  statement  of  all  the  circum- 
stances connected  with  the  seizure  of  said  vessels. 

It  was  so  ordered  and  attested  by  the  Notary  Public. 

Juan  Valdez. 
Lorenzo  Corona do. 

Before  mc — 

Liiis  Lopez  de  la  Puente, 
Notary  Public  of  the  Royal  Revenue. 


■39 

Visit. — On  the  same  day,  month  and  year,  in  coniphance 
with  the  above  rule,  their  Honors,  in  company  with  the  acting 
Notary  Public,  visited  the  vessels  lying  at  anchor  in  the 
Port  of  the  Castle  of  San  Francisco  de  Asis,  in  order  to  examine 
everything  found  on  board  and  make  a  regular  inventory 'of 
the  contents  found — 

In  the  first  place,  there  was  a  schooner  with  her 
main  and  foremast,  and  rigging  without  sails. 

One  small  anchor,  with  its  corresponding  rope. 

Five  barrels  of  salt  fish. 

One  launch,  with  a  mast,  canvas  shrouds  and  a 
round  sail  of  coarse  cloth. 

Four  barrels  of  powdered  salt. 

One  curiara  (a  small  Indian  boat)  for  the  service  of 
the  launch,  with  wash  boards.  Six  hatchets,  ten 
short  coarse  Indian  drawers,  ten  knives,  six  bun- 
dles of  beads  and  an  old  case. 

Another  launch,  with  its  mast,  canvas  shroud  and  a 
round  sail. 

A  small  anchor  with  its  corresponding  hemp  rope. 

One  curiara,  answering  as  a  boat. 

And  having  found  nothing  else  we  closed  the  inventory, 
and  their  Honors  ordered  the  discharge  of  every  thing,  so  as 
to  be  kept  at  the  Treasury  Office  ;  and  that  in  regard  to  the  fish, 
the  Royal  Treasury  Lieutenant  will  find  out  a  suitable  admin- 
istrator to  sell  the  same,  and  carry  a  regular  account  of  the 
sales  at  fair  prices,  deducting  a  suitable  commission  in  the 
usual  current  money. 

It  was  so  ruled  and  provided  by  their  Honors,  who  signed 
before  me,  the  Notary  Public. 

Juan  Valdes. 

Lorenzo  Coronado. 

Before  me — 

Luis  Lopez  de  la  Puente, 
Notary  Public  of  t lie  Bojjal  Reiwnue. 


40 

In  the  oity  of  Santo  Thonn''  de  la  (Uiayana,  on  tlie  29th  day 
of  said  month  and  year,  in  pursuance  of  tlie  investigation  to 
be  made,  about  the  seizure  of  the  vessels,  their  Honors  met  at 
the  Royal  Treasurer's  Office,  and  summoned  to  their  presence 
the  Lieutenant  of  Infantry,  Don  Juan  de  Dios  Flores,  who. 
after  being  duly  sworn,  and  promising  to  tell  the  truth  of  what 
he  knew  and  were  interrogated,  he  was  asked  where  he  had 
seized  said  vessels,  how  and  what  resistance  was  opposed  with 
fire  arms,  and  where  were  the  people  of  the  crew,  and  he  said  : 
That  having  left  this  port,  under  orders  of  the  Commander,  to 
proceed  to  the  Barima  crock,  and  having  rcachcil  and  tacked 
about  the  mouth  of  it,  on  the  eleventii  instant,  at  about  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  he  descried  a  sail  towards  the  point 
of  Guani,  that  was  coming  in  the  direction  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Orinoco,  and  he  went  after  it  and  having  met  her  and  fired  a 
small  gun,  she  stopped  immediately,  and  having  boarded  her  he 
found  ten  Aruaca  Indians  who  came  from  the  Esquivo  Colony 
to  fish  in  the  river,  three  of  whom  ran  away,  throwing  them- 
selves into  the  river,  and  on  the  following  day  he  continued 
his  journey  and  went  through  the  mouth  of  Barima,  going  up 
the  creek  for  about  three  leagues,  when  he  descried  a  vessel  that 
was  left  aground  by  the  low  tide,  at  a  long  distance,  finding* 
no  means  to  reach  on  board  the  same,  until  it  ^  as  full  tide,  when 
he  could  draw  near.  The  people  and  the  crew  on  board,  as  they 
had  seen  and  recognized  his  vessel,  had  left  theirs,  carrying- 
away  their  sails  and  cutting  the  best  part  of  the  rigging.  Al- 
though he  tried  his  best  to  reach  them,  he  could  not  succeed. 
Through  the  Aruaca  Indians  who  had  been  seized  he  was  in- 
formed that  that  schooner  belonged  to  the  Esquivo  Colony, 
and  came  there  for  the  purpose  of  fishing;  that  finding  him- 
self with  these  two  vessels  witliout  any  crew,  he  liad  only  four 
men  in  their  charge,  two  men  in  each  one;  that  he  had  only 
six  men  left,  and  being  informed  that  five  days  at  least  were 
necessary  to  reach  the  place  where  the  traders  in  Poytos  were 
reported  it  to  be,  it  was  natural  to  sup{)ose  the}'  had  been 
warned  of  his  visit  by  those  who  had  left  the  vessel ;  that  he 
found  necessary  to  return  at  once,  as  he  did,  finding  that  his 
order  was  only  to  reach   the   same  mouth  (Barima) ;  that  on 


41 

his  return  up  the  river  he  met  another  Launch,  which  he  had 
heard  before  was  to  be  found  there ;  that  he  sent  Pedro  de 
Salas  in  a  curiara  (small  Indian  boat)  with  orders  to  seize 
everybod}^  found  on  board,  without  allowing  any  one  to 
escape  ;  he  did  so  in  regard  to  the  launch,  but  not  the  people 
who  had  taken  to  the  woods  where  they  had  a  ranch,  and 
they  could  be  seen  ;  that  from  there  he  continued  his  journey 
up  to  the  principal  port  of  this  city,  where  he  anchored  with 
the  three  vessels  seized  ;  that  that  is  the  truth  in  virtue  of  his 
oath,  and  affirms  and  ratifies  his  statement,  and  will  make  it 
again  if  wanted  ;  that  he  is  thirty-nine  years  old,  and  signed, 
with  his  Honors,  of  all  of  which  I  attest. 

Juan  Valdes. 

Lorenzo  Coronado. 

Juan  de  Dios  Gonzales  de  Flores. 

Luis  Lopez  de  la  Puente, 
Notary  Public,  and  of  the  Royal  Revenue. 


Affidavit. — Affidavit  of  Pedro  de  Salas  :  On  'the  same  day ,. 
month,  and  year,  in  pursuance  of  the  investigation  on  tliis 
matter,  their  Honors  summoned  before  them  Pedro  de  Salas, 
who  appeared,  and  before  me  was  duly  sworn,  and  said  he  was 
one  of  the  military  men  of  those  Castles,  and  promised  to  tell 
the  truth  of  all  he  knew,  and  were  interrogated  by  their 
Honors,  and  he  did  so,  as  follows :  That  having  left  tliis  port 
on  board  the  war  schooner  they  reached  the  mouth  of  Barima, 
where  they  were  tacking  about,  and  descried  a  vessel ; 
that  they  went  towards  the  same,  and  after  a  blank  gun 
shot  she  stopped;  that  they  boarded  her  and  found  a  few  Aru- 
aca  Indians,  who  said  that  they  came  from  the  Esquivo  Dutch 
Colony  to  fish,  and  that  on  the  following  day  they  went 
through  the  mouth  of  Barima,  and,  going  up  the  creek,  they 
descried,  at  a  distance  of  about  three  leagues  up,  a  schooner 
that  had  been  left  aground  by  the  low  tide ;  that  on  account 
of  the  long  distance,  they  could  not  reach  her  until  the  higK 


42 

tiili'  came;  that  wlnii  tlicy  fame  on  Ixiiirtl  of  her  tliey  did  not 
tiiul  any  person  whatever,  as  tliose  who  were  on  board  had 
h;i(l  atnple  tinio  to  escape  and  carry  away  witli  them  tlie  sails, 
pai't  of  the  shi'Diids  and  rigf^ing,  which  they  had  cut  off;  they 
ascertained  from  tlie  pih)t  that  it  was  a  distance  of  alx)ut  five 
days  necessary  to  reacli  the  })eople  trading  around  ;  that  there 
was,  besides,  the  inconvenience  of  not  having  sufficient  water 
in  the  narrow  creek  ior  a  hirge  vessel,  besides  being  short  of 
hands  to  be  able  to  go  any  farther  and  keep  the  vessel  already 
seized  ;  that  the  Lieutenant-Commander  decided  to  return  as 
he  did,  going  up  the  river;  that  he  received  news  of  a  launch 
lying  at  a  creek  near  a  land  ranch,  and  that  he  was  sent  with 
four  men  on  board  a  curiara,  so  as  to  seize  the  same,  with  the 
crew  and  every  thing  found  on  board  ;  that  he  found  no  person, 
and  went  to  the  ranch  with  no  better  success,  thinking  they  all 
took  to  the  woods;  that  from  there  lie  brought  said  launch  to 
the  Lieutenant  in  command  ;  that  thence  they  proceeded  up 
the  river  to  the  chief  port  of  this  city,  where  they  stopped  and 
cast  ancliors ;  that  that  is  the  truth  under  his  oath,  and  that 
he  affirms  and  ratifies  his  statement,  and  will  repeat  it  if 
wanted  ;  that  he  is  forty-four  years  old,  and  signed  with  his 
llonors  and  the  Notary  Public. 

Juan  Valdez. 

Lorenzo  Coronado. 

Pedro  de  Salas. 
Before  me — 

Luis  de  la  Puente, 

Notarij  I'nh/ic,  (1 11(1  (iff  he  ]i()i/(il  Revenue, 


Affidavit. — Affidavit  of  jMiguel  de  Sosa :  In  this  garrison  of 
tlie  (Juayana  on  the  same  day,  month,  and  year,  in  pursuance 
of  this  investigation,  their  Honors  made  appear  before  them 
and  me,  the  Notary  Public,  Jose  de  Sosa,  a  military  man  of 
tliis  Castle,  who  being  duly  sworn,  i)romised  to  tell  the  truth 
of  all  that  he  knew  and  was  interrogated,  and  said  in  reply 
to  their  Honors  :  That  hr  left  this  port  in   the  armed  launch 


43 

•of  war,  under  the  Lieutenant  of  Infantry,  Don  Juan  de  Flores, 
and  reached  the  mouth  of  Barima,  where  they  undertook  to 
tack  about,  and  while  so  doing,  descried  a  sail  steering  towards 
the  mouth  of  the  river;  that  they  followed  the  same  and 
■caused  her  to  stop  by  firing  a  gun  shot;  that  they  boarded 
the  same  and  only  found  ten  Arauca  Indians,  three  of  which 
Tan  away  ;  that -having  been  examined  the  Lieutenant  found 
that  they  had  come  from  the  Dutch  Colony  of  Esquivo  to  fish  in 
the  Orinoco  river;  that  as  soon  as  the  same  were  all  secured, 
leaving  two  soldiers  in  charge,  they  continued  their  sail,  and 
the  next  day  they  entered  through  the  mouth  of  Barima  and 
■navigated  the  creek  for  about  three  leagues  upwards,  when 
they  descried  a  schooner  left  aground  by  the  low  tide,  at  a 
distance  in  the  river,  which  did  not  permit  us  to  draw  near  and 
board  her,  until  high  tide,  when  they  went  on  board  and  found 
no  person,  as  they  had  had  time  enough,  while  we  expected 
the  high  tide,  to  run  away,  carrying  along  with  them  the  sails 
and  part  of  the  rigging  and  ropes  which  they  had  cut  otF;  that 
although  the  Lieutenant  tried  to  catch  the  people,  he  did  not 
succeed  ;  that  the  Arauca  Indians  said  that  that  schooner  had 
come  from  the  Esquivo  Colony  for  the  same  purpose  of  fishing ; 
that  the  pilot  when  asked,  replied  that  the  place  where  the 
Holland  traders  in  Poytos  had  a  ranch  was  about  five  days 
■distance  from  there,  and  that  the  vessels  could  not  go 
through  the  creek,  as  it  was  very  narrow,  where  only  small 
boats  could  pass,  that  for  that  reason,  and  after  having  placed 
two  soldiers  in  each  of  the  two  seized  vessels,  and  fearing  that 
the  Hollanders  had  been  already  warned  of  their  coming  by 
the  people  who  rati  away  from  the  vessel,  the  Lieutenant  de- 
cided to  return  back,  as  he  did  ;  that  coming  up  the  river  they 
had  news  of  a  launch,  lying  on  a  creek,  and  the  Lieutenant 
sent  Pedro  de  Salas  on  board  of  a  curiara,  with  orders  to  seize 
the  same,  and  to  let  nobody  escape  ;  that  the  launch  was 
seized  and  brought  back,  having  found  nobody  in  it,  nor  in  a 
ranch  they  had  near  there ;  that  lie  presumed  they  had  run 
away  when  they  had  seen  them  ;  that  from  there  they  con- 
tinued their  return  to  port  until  tli^ey  reached  it  and  cast 
anchor;  that  this  is  the  truth  under   his   oath,   and   that  he 


44 

affirms  and  ratifies  it,  and  will  do  so  again  if  wanted  ;  that  he- 
is  twenty-seven  years  old,  and  signs  with  his  Honor. 

Lorenzo  Coronado. 
Juan  Valdes. 

Jose  Miguel  de  Sosa. 
Before  me — 

Luis  Lopez  de  la  Puexte, 

The  Notary  PnhUc,  and  of  the  Royal  Revenue. 


Ajjidarif. — Alhdavit  of  Antonio  Ravelo :  On  the  same  day, 
month  and  year,  in  pursuance  of  the  same  investigation  about 
the  seizure  of  the  three  vessels,  their  Honors  had  Antonio 
Ravelo,  a  military  man  of  the  Castle,  brought  before  them  and 
me,  the  Notary  Public,  and,  after  being  duly  sworn,  he  prom- 
ised to  tell  the- truth  of  all  he  knew  and  was  interrogated,  and 
to  the  questions  of  their  Honors  he  answered  :  That  having 
left  this  port  on  board  the  war  launch  under  the  orders  of 
Lieutenant  Don  Juan  de  Flores,  they  wont  down  to  tlie  month 
of  Barima,  where  tliey  had  to  tack  about,  and  then  descried  a 
sail  coming  towards  the  Orinoco  river,  and  having  ap- 
proached the  same  fired  a  gun  shot,  and  she  stopped  immedi- 
ately and  was  boarded;  that  they  found  only  ten  Aruaca 
Indians,  wlio,  being  examined  by  the  aforesaid  Lieutenant, 
said  that  they  came  to  fish  around  the  river;  that  from  there 
they  returned  to  the  mouth  of  the  Barima,  and  on  the  follow- 
ing day  they  went  u})  the  creek  about  three  leagues,  when 
they  saw  a  vessel  left  aground  at  a  long  distance  b}''  the  low 
tide  of  the  river  ;  that  they  could  not  reach  it  until  the  high 
tide  allowed  them  to  come  near  and  board  her;  they  found 
nobody,  as  the  people  had  had  time  to  run  away,  carrying 
with  them  the  sails  and  part  of  the  rigging;  that  the  Lieuten- 
ant was  told  by  the  pilot  that  the  Holland  traders  in  Foytos 
were  far  away,  and  it  would  take  five  days'  navigation  to  reach 
them ;  that  their  vessels  could  not  pass  the  creek,  as  it  was 
very  narrow,  and  only  small  boats  could  get  through  ;  tliat 
on  that  account,  and  being  short  of  hands,  after  the  seizure  of 
the  other  vessels,  needing  two  hands  each,  and  besides  fearing 
the  Hollanders   had  been  already  warned  of  their  approach, 


45 

the  Lieutenant  concluded  to  return  home;  that  coming  up 
the  river  they  heard  the  news  of  a  launch  lying  on  a  creek  on 
our  way  back,  and  he  sent  Pedro  de  Salas  on  board  a  small 
boat  with  four  men  to  seize  the  same  and  everybody  on  board, 
and  bring  it  without  letting  anybody  escaf)e ;  that  he  seized 
the  launch  and  says  he  did  not  find  anybody  in  it,  nor  in  a 
ranch  they  had  on  the  banks  ;  that  he  thought  they  had  taken 
to  the  woods  when  they  saw  them  coming;  that  from  thence 
they  continued  their  way  up  the  river  until  they  cast  anchor 
in  this  port ;  that  tliat  is  the  truth  under  his  oath,  and  that 
he  affirms  and  ratifies  it,  and  will  do  so  again  if  wanted  ;  that 
he  is  forty-two  years  old,  and  signs  with  his  Honor. 

Juan  Valdes. 

Lorenzo  Coeonado. 
Before  me —  Antonio  Ravelo. 

Luis  Lopez  de  la  Puente, 
Notary  Public,  and  of  the  Royal  Revenue. 


Ride. — After  the  preceding  affidavits  their  Honors  found 
better  to  improve  the  same  by  receiving  the  statement  of  the 
mustee,  who  came  along  with  the  Aruaca  Indians,  and  was 
apprehended  by  Lieutenant  of  Infantry,  Don  Juan  de  Flores, 
making  this  person  and  the  other  Aruaca  Indians  answer 
about  the  questions  that  the}^  n^ay  see  fit  to  set  to  them. 

It  was  so  ordered  and  signed  before  me,  by  their  Honors,  on 
the  thirtieth  da}^  of  the  month  of  September  of  the  same  year. 

Juan  Valdes. 

Before  me —  Lorenzo  Coronado. 

Luis  Lopez  de  la  Puente, 
Notary  Public,  and  of  the  Royal  Revenue. 


Confession  of  the  Mustee. — In  this  city  of  Santa  Thome  de  la 
Guayana,  on  the  same  da}',  month  and  year,  their  Honors,  in 
order  to  improve  the  preceding  investigation,  made  appear 
before  them  and  me,  the  Notary  Public,  one  of  the  prisoners 
brought  by  Lieutenant  Don  Juan  de  Flores,  who  being  asked 
by  his  Honor  if  he  was  a  mustee,  and  of  what  religion,  where 
was  he  born,  and  what  was  his  name,  what  business  brought 


46 

him  to  the  Orinoco,  and  Ijy  whom  he  had  been  sent,  lie  nn- 
.s\vei'C(l  :  That  he  was  an  Aruaca  Indian,  from  a  fatiier  and 
mother  also  Indians;  that  they  have  no  religion  whatever; 
tliat  lie  \vasl>orn  in  ( hiaca{)on,  near  the  Es(]uivo  Post;  that  his 
name  is  Yana  ;  that  he  came  to  the  river  Orinoco  for  lishing, 
and  that  he  was  sent  by  a  Hollander  called  ForduU. 

Asked  what  was  the  nature  of  his  cargo  and  to  whom  did  the 
schooner  and  lannch  seized  belong,  and  for  what  purpose  they 
came  to  the  river,  he  answered:  That  his  cargo  was  only  a 
little  barbasco  (a  vegetable  fish  poison)  and  a  barrel  of  salt; 
that  the  schooner  belongs  also  to  the  Esquivo  Colony  and  is 
the  property  of  a  Hollander  called  Monk;  that  the  launch 
likewise  belongs  to  the  same  Colony,  and  was  sent  by  a  Hol- 
lander by  the  name  of  Bobro,  and  tliat  both  came  on  to  do  the 
same  business  of  fishing. 

Asked  if  he  knew  whether  in  the  Barima  creek  there  are 
any  Hollanders  purcliasing  Poytos,  andj^if  so,  at  what  dis- 
tance were  they  from  the  place  where  the  schooner  w\as  seized, 
he  answered  :  That  he  knew  that  in  the  said  creek ^of  Barima 
there  are  four  Hollanders  purchasing  Poytos,iand  that  in  their 
company  there  are  many  Carib  Indians ;  that  from  the  place 
where  the  schooner  was  seized,  to  where  they  are,  there  is  a 
distance  of  five  or  six  days'  navigation;  that  the  creek  where 
said  Hollanders  are  found  is  very  narrow,  as  he  understands 
by  the  information  he  has  from  other  Indians  of  his  own  tribe, 
and  that  no  large  vessels  can  go  through  ;  that  the  Hollanders 
that  purchased  Poytos  do  not  belong  to  the  Ivsipiivo  Colony, 
but  to  that  of  Surinam,  because  in  that  of  Escpiivo  the  Gov- 
ernor does  not  allow  any  Hollander  to  come  out  and  make 
this  kind  of  trade.  This  deposition  being  finished,  the  depo- 
nent said  he  could  not  tell  how  old  he  was,  and  did  not  sign,, 
as  he  did  not  know  how  to  do  so. 

Signed  by  their  Honors  before  me. 

Juan  Valdes. 
LoKENzo  Corona DO. 

Before  me — 

Lris  Loi>EZ  DE  la  Puente, 
Nofari/  I'll h/ic,  and  of  the  1  loyal  Revenue. 


47 

Rule. — In  the  city  of  Santo  Thome,  in  the  Guayana,  on  tlie 
first  day  of  October,  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty, 
the  Castillian  Captain  of  His  INIajesty,  Don  Jnan  Vakles,  and 
the  Royal  Lieutenant,  Don  Lorenzo  Coronado,  said:  That  the 
foregoing  acts  being  sufficient,  about  the  seizure  of  one  schooner 
and  two  hxunches,  belonging  to  the  Esquivo  Colony,  introduced 
in  this  Orinoco  river  on  the  pretext  of  fishing,  but  in  reality 
to  go  on  practicing  the  illicit  commerce  and  the  purchase  of 
Poytos  from  the  Carib  tribe,  we  rule  that  an  authentic  copy  of 
these  acts  be  made  and  the  originals  be  sent  to  the  Superior 
Tribunal  of  the  Treasury;  and  that  in  regard  to  the  mustee, 
Jean  Baptista,  well  known,  although  in  his  confession  he  de- 
nies his  name  and  to  be  a  mustee,  calling  himself  an  Lidian 
of  the  Aruaca  tribe,  and  dyeing  himself  red  with  annotto,  ma- 
liciously, so  as  not  to  be  recognized,  his  Honor  the  Commander, 
ordered  that  he  be  kept  secure  in  irons  in  the  Castle  until  fur- 
ther orders  from  his  Honor,  the  Governor  and  Captain  Gen- 
eral, furnishing  him  the  daily  ration  of  a  dime,  as  the  Rev- 
erend Father  Prefect  refuses  to  admit  him,  on  account  of  the 
serious  evils  brought  about  among  the  people  by  the  mustees 
whom  they  have  received  before,  and  who  had  run  away  after- 
wards, carrying  along  with  them  several  persons  of  those  al- 
ready settled ;  that  in  regard  to  the  Indians,  he  ordered  to 
have  them  sent  to  said  Reverend  Father  Prefect,  so  as  to  be 
distributed  among  the  several  settlements  under  his  charge, 
and  increase  the  population  in  the  way  that  has  been  reg- 
ulated ;  that  in  regard  to  the  part  of  the  cargo  consisting  of 
fish,  the  Royal  Lieutenant  will  be  in  charge  of  the  sale  on  ac- 
count of  the  Royal  Treasury,  as  this  is  a  kind  of  article  that 
loses  in  weight  and  quantity. 

It  was  so  ordered,  and  signed  before  me  by  their  Honors. 

Juan  Valdez. 

Lorenzo  Coronado. 


Before  me — 


Luis  Lopez  de  la  Puento, 

Notary  Public,  and  of  the  Royal  Revenue... 


48 

Tliis  copy  agrees  with  tlio  original  acts  kept  at  the  Royal 
Treasury  Office,  in  ordcn-  to  be  forwarded  to  tlie  (Aiptain  Gen- 
eral and  ( Jovernor  and  to  the  Officers  of  the  Royal  Treasury 
in  the  city  of  Cumana.  It  has  been  faithfully  and  lawfully 
taken  to  tlie  letter  in  twenty-three  folios,  in  ordinary  })aper,  for 
want  (jf  the  stamped  kind.  Signed  on  the  tiiird  day  of  Octo- 
ber, of  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty. 

In  testimony  whereof  I  sign. 

Luis  Lopez  de  la  Puente, 
Notary  Public,  and  of  the  Royal  Treasury. 


Don  Jose  Diguja  Villagomes,  a  Colonel  of  the  Royal  Armies, 
CommissioneT  of  the  Royal  Expedition  of  Boundaries,  and 
Captain  General  of  these  Provinces  of  New  Andalusia,  Cu- 
mana, New  Barcelona,  the  Main-land  and  Guayana,  its  coasts 
and  fortresses.  Superintendent  in  the  same,  and  of  tlie  branch 
of  Crusades  by  the  King  our  Lord  ;  Don  Pedro  Luis  Martinez 
de  Gordon  y  Lugo,  Accomptant,  and  Don  Antonio  de  Alcala, 
Royal  Official  Treasurers  of  His  Majesty,  etc.  : 

Whereas  the  preceding  acts  refer  to  the  seizure  of  a  schooner, 
two  launches,  and  two  curiaras  (small  Indian  boats),  made  by 
tiie  Lieutenant  of  Infantry,  Don  Juan  de  Dios  Gonzales  de 
Flores,  in  the  Barima  Creek,  at  its  mouth,  we  have  definitely 
ruled  that  the  same,  with  the  inventory  contained  therein,  be 
inserted  to  the  letter,  and  they  are  as  follows: 

.  Inventory. — On  the  same  day,  month,  and  year,  in  compli- 
ance with  the  above  rule,  their  Honors  went  on  board  the 
vessels,  lying  at  anchor  in  this  port,  at  the  Castle  of  San  Fran- 
cisco de  Asis,  in  order  to  pass  the  visit  of  said  vessels,  and 
being  on  l)oard,  the  following  inventory  was  made  of  every- 
thing found  by  them  on  board  : 

Firstly.  One  schooner,  with  main  and  foremasts,  with 

its  shrouds  without  sails. 
A  small  anchor  and  hem})  rope. 
Five  barrels  of  salt  fish. 
One  launch,  with   mast  and   canvas  shrouds,  and   a 

round  sail  of  coarse  cloth. 


49 

Four  barrels  of  powdered  salt. 

One  curiara,  answering  for  a  small  boat  to  the  wash- 
boarded  launch,  six  hatchets,  ten  short,  coarse,. 
Indian  drawers,  six  bundles  of  beads,  and  an  old 
case. 

Another  launch,  with  mast,  canvas  shroud,  and  a 
round  sail. 

A  small  anchor,  with  hemp  rope. 

One  curiara,  answering  for  a  small  boat. 

And  having  found  nothing  else,  the  inventory  was  finished, 
and  their  Honors  ordered  the  discharge  of  everything  at  the 
Royal  Treasury  stores ;  and  in  regard  to  the  fish,  the  Royal 
Lieutenant  Officer  will  find  a  suitable  person  to  sell  it,  keeping 
a  regular  accountof  the  sale,  and  allowing  the  usual  commission 
to  the  agent  for  his  trouble. 

It  was  so  ruled  and  provided  by  their  Honors,  signing  be- 
fore me,  the  Notary  Public. 

Juan  Valdes. 
Lorenzo  Coronado. 
Before  me — 

Luis  Lopez  de  la  Puente, 
Notary  Public,  and  of  the  Royal  Treasury. 


Final  rule. — In  the  city  of  Cumana,  on  the  twenty-fourth  day 
of  April,  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty-one,  Don  Jose  Diguja 
^^illagomez,  Colonel  of  the  Royal  Armies,  Commissioner 
of  the  Royal  Boundary  Expedition,  Governor  and  Captain 
General  of  these  Provinces  and  of  New  Andalusia,  Cumana, 
New  Barcelona,  Main-land,  and  Guayana,  their  coasts  and 
fortresses,  and  in  them  Superintendent  of  the  branch  of  Cru- 
sades by  the  King  our  Lord  ;  Don  Pedro  Luis  Martinez  de 
Gordon  and  Lugo,  accomptant,  and  Don  Antonio  de  Al- 
cala.  Treasurer,  and  both  Officers  of  the  same  by  His  Majesty, 
after  having  seen  these  proceedings  by  Don  Juan  de  Dios 
Valdes,  Captain  Commander,  and  Don  Lorenzo  Coronado, 
Lieutenant  of  their  Honors  in  the  fortress  of  Guayana,  about 
the  seizure  effected  by  the  Lieutenant  of  Infantry,  Don  Juan 

Vol.    II,  Ven. — 4 


50 

<K'  Dios  Gonzales  de  Flores,  of  one  schooner,  two  launches,  two 
CMfiaras,  and  several  other  articles  contained  in  their  inventory, 
at  the  Barinia  Creek,  at  its  mouth,  in  virtue  of  the  order  and 
power  allowed  to  him  by  said  Commander,  Don  Juan  de  Dios 
Valdes,  Judge  General  of  the  revenue,  with  the  opinion  given 
to  them  by  the  Licenciate,  Don  Jose  Fernando  Espinosa  de 
los  Monteros,  a  lawyer  of  the  Roval  Audience  and  Chancellor 
of  the  District ;  and  taking  everytliing  into  consideration,  tlieir 
Honors  have  agreed  to  conform  themselves,  as  tliey  do,  with 
the  above  opinion,  holding  the  same  as  good,  and  declaring 
forleited  and  to  be  a  good  prize  tlie  already  mentioned  schooner, 
two  launclies,  two  curiaras,  and  the  other  articles,  and  as  such 
belonging  all  to  the  Royal  Treasury,  to  be  divided  and  appor- 
tioned and  applied  according  to  the  law  eleventh,  book  eiglith, 
title  seventeenth,  of  the  laws  of  Indias,  and  to  the  model  sent 
for  their  observance,  with  the  Royal  cedule  of  the  nineteenth 
of  Februar}^  of  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  fifty-seven, 
ordering  that  letters  rogatory  be  forwarded,  with  insertion  of 
the  inventories,  and  of  this  commission,  to  said  Commander 
and  Lieutenant,  so  as  to  proceed  to  appoint  two  experts  of 
conscience  and  intelligence  ;  that  after  having  accepted  and 
being  sworn,  ai)prize  the  same  and  bring  them  to  public  auc- 
tion, after  })roclaiming  the  sale  through  the  public  crier  in  the 
customary  manner  for  the  term  of  lour  days  consecutively,  so 
that  the  sale  and  award  to  the  highest  bidder  or  bidders  be 
closed  on  the  fourth  day,  and  the  proceeds  be  delivered  and 
entered,  by  way  of  deposit,  in  the  Royal  Treasury,  and  tlie 
original  acts  about  the  same  matter  be  forwarded  to  this  .Su- 
perior Tribunal,  with  a  sworn  statement  of  the  legitimate  and 
true  costs  expended  in  the  seizure  of  said  vessels  and  effects, 
in  order  to  li(|uidate  said  confiscation,  preceded  by  a  statement 
made  by  the  present  Notary  Public  of  the  costs  incurred. 
And  as  the  Aruaca  Indians  seized  at  the  mouth  of  said  creek 
have  been  delivered  to  tlie  Reverend  Fathers  of  those  Missions, 
so  as  to  people  the  same  and  distribute  them,  his  Honor  ought 
to  rule,  and  did  rule,  that  said  Indians  be  kept  for  the  above 
purpose  in  the  said  Missions;  and  that  the  mustee  Jean  Baptist, 
who,  as  it  is  very  well  known,  will  l)e  ke[)t  in  prison  until  the 


51 

end  of  this  process,  the  said  CJommander,  Don  Juan  de  Dios 
Valdes,  before  a  Notary  PubUc  of  that  city,  will  make  a  sum- 
mary investigation  to  find  out  his  name,  country,  origin,  the 
religion  he  professes,  tlie  trade  in  whicii  he  occupies  his  time, 
and  the  offences  he  has  committed,  and  if  he  is  shown  to  be 
guilty  his  case  must  be  substantiated  and  tried  according  to 
law,  and  if  it  turns  out  to  be  innocent  he  will  be  sent  to  the 
remotest  Mission  existing,  so  as  to  be  catechized,  and  for  that 
purpose  his  Honor  empowers  said  Commander  to  follow  the 
present  instructions  on  separate  acts,  the  heading  of  which 
will  be  a  true  copy,  duly  authenticated,  of  this  rule. 

So  was  ordered  and  ruled  as  a  final  decision — signed  before 

me. 

Don  Jose  Diguja. 

Pedro  Luis  Martinez  de  Gordon  y  Lugo. 

Don  Antonio  de  Alcala. 

Before  me — 

Francisco  Ramirez, 

Notary  Public,  and  Royal  Lieutenant  of  the  Treasury. 


Therefore,  in  order  to  carry  out  in  due  form  the  preceding 
rule  we  order  the  Commander  and  Lieutenant  of  the  fortress 
of  Guayana  to  see  the  above-inserted  rule  be  carried  out  in 
every  particular  in  the  part  appertaining  to  him. 

It  was  so  ruled,  in  the  city  of  Cuniaiia,  on  the  24th  day  of 
April,  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  one. 
Jose  Diguja. 

Pedro  Luis  Martinez  de  Gordon  y  Lugo. 
Antonio  de  Alcala. 

By  command  of  his  Honor. 

Francisco  Ramirez, 

Notary  Public,  and  Royal  LieiUeaant  of  tJic  Treasury. 


In  the  city  of  Santo  Thome  de  la  Guayana,  on  the  third 
day  of  the  month  of  February,  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred 
and  sixty-one,  Don  Juan  de  Dios  Valdez,  Castillian  Captain 
Commander  of  His  Majesty,  and  the  Lieutenant  of  the  Royal 
Officers,  Don  Lorenzo  Coronado,  said  that  inasmuch  as  the 
vessels    seized    by   the    Lieutenant    of   Infantry,   Don    Juan 


52 

(le  Dios  lie  b'lori's,  in  the  IJarima  creek,  belonoinn-  t(i  several 
persons  of  the  Dutch  Colony  of  Es(iniv().  under  .sufficient  in- 
structions of  said  Commander,  sent  in  a  war  schooner,  are  de- 
teriorating in  the  cliief  port  where  they  are  lying  at  anchor,  on 
account  of  the  sun  and  showers,  especially  one  of  said 
vessels,  !iow  almost  worthless,  on  account  of  lier  old  and 
worn  out  timber,  their  Honors,  in  order  to  avoid  further 
injury  and  the  loss  that  the  same  vessels  may  cause  to  the 
Koval  "^Freasury,  on  account  of  the  above  reasons  and  the  ac- 
tion of  the  waters  injuring  them,  it  was  found  proper  to  ap- 
prize them  by  competent  and  conscientious  experts,  and  pro- 
claim them  by  the  public  crier  during  three  da3's,  so  as  to  be 
sold  at  auction  to  the  highest  bidder;  and  likewise  to  prevent 
any  further  expense,  to  have  them  apprized  and  the  effects 
sold  at  auction,  according  to  the  inventory,  found  in  the  above 
proceedings,  a])out  the  seizure  of  said  vessels,  as  they  are 
few  and  of  no  high  value;  that  the  proceeds  of  all  will  be  de- 
posited and  secured  in  the  lioyal  Treasury,  awaiting  the  in- 
structions of  the  Governor,  Captain  General,  and  Officers  of 
the  Royal  Treasury  of  Ilis^rajesty  in  the  Province  of  Cumana, 
to  wlu^m  the  original  acts  have  been  forwarded,  with  an  ac- 
count of  what  has  taken  place. 

And  as  the  circumstances  of  skill,  intelligence,  and  in- 
tegrity concur  in  the  per.sons  of  Don  Vivente  Franco  and 
Don  Jose  de  Salvatierra,  their  Honors  appointed  them  both 
as  .such  apprizers  and  ordered  to  have  them  notified  and  swoi-n, 
after  their  acceptance,  promising  before  every  thing  else  to 
fulfil  their  charge  with  hdtdity  and  lawfully:  said  notification 
and  the  other  steps  will  be  performed  by  the  present  Notary 
Public,  after  making  an  inventory  of  every  thing  that  niay  be 
delivered  and  ap[)ri/e(l  and  of  the  above-mentioned  vessels 
and  contents. 

So  it  was  ordered,  and  ruleil  and  signed  by  his  Honor  be- 
fore nie. 

Juan  Valdes. 

Before  me —  Lorenzo  Coroxado. 

Luis  Lopez  de  ea  Puente, 
A  Notarij  Pahllc,  and  of  the  Royal  Revenue. 


Acceptance  and  oath — Shortly  afterwards,  I,  the  Notar}'  Pub- 
lic, called  at  the  residence  of  Captain  Don  A^icente  Franco,  to 
to  whom  I  notified  of  his  appointment,  as  apprizer,  and  he 
accej^ted  and  was  duly  sworn,  promising  to  faithfully  discharge 
his  duty  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  without  any  bias  or  fraud, 
and  signed  with  me. 

Vicente  Franco. 
Before  me — 

Luis  Lopez  de  la  Puenta, 
Notary  PvMic,  and  of  the  Boi/al  Treasury. 


Anotlier  acceptance. — And  shortly  afterwards  I  called  at  the 
residence  of  Don  Jose  de  Salvatierra,  whom  I  notified  of  his 
appointment  as  apprizer  and  he  said  that  he  accepted,  and  was 
duly  sworn,  promising  to  discharge  his  duties  faithfully  and  to 
the  best  of  his  ability,  and  signed  with  me. 

Jose  Landre  and  Salvatierra. 
Before  me — 

Luis  Lopez  de  la  Puenta, 
^•1  Notary  Public,  and  of  the  Royal  Treasury. 


Apprizement. — Don  Vicente  Franco  and  Don  Jose  de  Salva- 
tierra, the  appointed  apprizers,  appeared  and  said,  that  in  virtue 
of  their  appointment,  acceptance,  and  oath,  they  went  to  the 
chief  port  of  this  city,  where  the  vessels  to  be  apprized  are 
lying  at  anchor,  and  being  on  board  of  the  same  they  exam- 
ined them  and  proceeded  to  apprize  the  same  in  the  following 
manner : 

Firstly. — One  launch,  rigged  as  a  schooner,  with 
the  hull  damaged,  the  main-mast  in  good  order,  the 
foremast  damaged,  with  the  canvas  shrouds  still  in 
good  use,  and  the  small  anchor  with  its  corresponding 
hemp  rope  still  serviceable  ;  we  api:)rized  the  whole  to 
to  be  worth  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars. 

One  launch,  with  main-mast,  two  canvas  shrouds, 
one  round  sail  of  coarse  cloth  and  every  thing  almost 
worn  out,  with  one  curiara  damaged  at  the  bottom, 


54 

nnsworiny;  as  small  l)oat,  the  iiull  of  said  launch  Ix'ini^ 
a^'n)un(l ;  we  ai)))rize(l  and  vahic  all  to  lie  woitli  twenty 
dollars. 

Another  laun(di  with  its  mast,  two  canvas  shrouds, 
a  very  small  round  sail  of  coarse  cloth,  a  small  an- 
chor with  only  one  hook  wantino;,  \vith  its  hemp 
rope,  all  still  serviceahle,  with  a  small  curiara,  an- 
swering for  a  boat;  we  value  and  aj)prize  at  eighty 
dollars. 

And  having  nothing  else  to  a[){)rize  at  the  jiort.  we 
went  to  the  Royal  Treasury  store,  and  examined  four 
barrels  of  powdered  salt,  and  found  that  they  each 
contained  a  fanega  (112  ft)s.  weight)  and  a  half,  mak- 
ing it  in  all  six  fanegas,  which  we  valued  at  fourteen 
reals  each,  a  total  often  dollars  and  four  reals. 

Six  hatchets  at  six  reals  each,  making  in  all  four 
dollars  and  four  reals. 

Ten  Indian  drawers  of  coarse  cloth,  a  yard  and  a 
half  in  each,  at  three  reals  a  yard,  making  in  all  three 
dollars  and  six  reals. 

Eight  knives  and  six  bundles  of  Ijeads,  valued  at 
five  dollars  and  two  rivals. 

And  having  nothing  else  to  apprize,  we  delivered  the  above 
valuation  to  his  Honor,  in  the  presence  of  the  Notary  Public. 
Guayana,  February  the  iburth,  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty- 
one. 

Vicente  Fkanx'O. 
Jose  Landre   Saj.vatierka. 
Before  me — 

Luis  de  la  Puente, 
A  Notai'ji  Puhlic,  and  of  the  Eoyal  Treasury. 


Rule. — In  view  of  the  above  apprizement  made  by  Captain 
Vicente  Franco  and  Don  .Jose  Salvatierra,  their  Honors,  tlie 
Commander,  Don  .Juan  Valdes  and  Don  I^orcnzo  Coronado, 
Lieutenantof  tlie  lioyal  OfHcers,  ordered  that  the  same  articles 
apprized  be  })roelaiin(M|   for  sale  for  three  consecutive   days  in 


55 

the  accustomed  {»lace,  so  as  to  be  sold  on  the  fourth  day  at 
pubhc  auction  and  awarded  to  the  highest  bidder,  under  the 
understanding  that  the  payment  must  be  made  in  actual  cash 
to  the  Royal  Treasurer;  to  that  end  the  present  Notary  Pub- 
lic shall  have  the  sale  proclaimed  by  the  public  crier,  attended 
by  a  drummer,  as  customary,  so  as  to  bring  the  fact  to  the 
public  notice.  It  was  so  ordered  and  ruled  by  their  Honors 
on  the  third  day  of  February,  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred 
and  sixty-one,  before  me. 

Juan  Valdes. 
Lorenzo  Coronado. 
Before  me — 

Luis  Lopez  de  la  Puente, 
Notary  Public,  and  of  the  Royal  Treasury. 


1.  Notice  by  the  Public  Crier. — (3n  the  fourth  day  of  February, 
in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty-one,  I,  the  Notary 
Public  of  this  city  and  of  the  Tribunal  of  the  Royal  Treasury, 
standing  at  the  public  place,  where  sales  are  proclaimed,  and 
through  the  public  crier  Antonio  Biamonte,  a  colored  slave, 
who  acted  as  a  crier,  having  no  regularly  appointed  crier,  and 
at  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  I  had  him  proclaim  for  sale 
all  the  effects  contained  in  the  inventory  and  the  apprizement 
of  the  same  as  above,  and  proclaiming  in  high  and  intelligible 
voice,  asking  who  was  willing  to  bid  for  a  launch  rigged  as  a 
schooner,  with  a  main  and  foremast,  with  a  small  anchor  tied 
by  a  hemp  rope  ;  one  launch,  with  its  masts  and  canvas  shrouds 
and  sail  of  coarse  cloth,  with  a  small  boat ;  and  another  launch, 
with  a  mast  and  canvas  shroud  and  coarse  cloth  sail,  with  a 
small  anchor  tied  with  a  rope ;  with  a  curiara,  answering  for  a 
small  boat ;  four  barrels  of  powdered  salt,  containing  six  fanegas 
of  the  same;  six  hatchets;  ten  Indian  drawers  of  coarse  white 
cloth  ;  eiglit  knives;  six  bundles  of  beads,  all  to  be  sold  on  ac- 
count of  the  Royal  Treasury,  giving  the  preference  to  the 
highest  bidder,  under  the  condition  of  making  the  payment  in 
cash  to  the  Royal  Treasury ;  and  although  it  was  repeated 
several  times,  nobody  appeared  to  bid  under  any  circumstances. 


56 

The  act  was   pcrloiincd   in   tlie  presence  of  Don  ,loa(|uin  tie 
Mieresand  Don  ^Santiago  Delgado,  military  men  oi'tliis  Castle. 

De  la  Plkntk. 
Notar;/  Pvhiir. 


2.  Second  Notice. —  In  tlie  said  city  ul' (.iuayana,  on  tlic  litth 
day  of  the  same  moiitli  and  year,  I,  the  present  Notary  Pnblic, 
and  of  the  Tribnnal  of  the  Koyal  Treasury,  standing  in  the 
same  place  and  hour  announced  before  ])y  the  public  crier, 
continued  the  notices  in  the  same  way  as  the  first,  in  like  form 
and  manner,  proclaiming  several  times  the  sale  until  sunset, 
having  had  no  bid  from  anybody,  under  any  conditions. 

I  attest  to  the  fact,  and  sign  with  the  attendant  witnesses, 
Jose  Hernandez  and  .Vndres  Torrico,  military  men. 

Before  me — 

De   l.v    rUE.VTK, 
Notar II  J'nhtic. 


3.  TJiird  votice. — In  thc^  said  city  of  the  (iuayana,  on  the 
sixth  day  of  the  same  month  and  yeai',beinga  Xotai'v  Public, 
standing  at  the  same  place  and  at  the  same  hour  a  hove  (pioted,  I 
caused  tlie  public  crier  to  rei)eat  several  times  and  proclaim 
the  sale  of  the  articles  contained  in  tlic  iirst,  observing  in  all 
and  every  respect  the  formalities  of  the  i)revious  notices,  until 
sunset,  and  having  had  no  bidders  the  act  was  suspended  and 
signed  by  mc  in  the  presence  of  the  witnesses,  Don  Joaquin 
de  JNIieres  and  Andres  Torrico,  military  men. 

Dk    la    PrKNTK, 

Kotary  PuJjUc. 


Auction  sale. — In  tliis  city  of  the  (Juayana,on  the  seventh 
day  of  the  same  month  and  year,  the  Captain  Commander, 
Don  Juan  de  Dios  Valdes  and  the  Lieutenant  of  Royal  Offi- 
cers, Don  Lorenzo  Coronado,  attending  to  preside  over  the  act 
of  the  auction  sale  to  be  made  of  all  the  articles  contained  in 
the  present  apprizement,  after  having  been  previously  pro- 
clahned  to  be  sold,  on  account  of  the  Poyal  Treasury,  in  com- 
pliance with  the  orders  of  their  Honors,  by  the  above  rule  of 


57 

February  the  third,  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty- 
one;  at  about  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  standing  at 
the  door  of  the  Treasury  Office,  situated  in  the  Public  Square 
of  this  city,  in  the  form  of  the  Tribunal  of  their  Honors  and 
before  me,  the  Notary  Public,  it  was  proclaimed  by  Antonio 
Biamonte,  a  colored  slav^e,  acting  as  a  public  crier,  the  sale  at 
auction  of  all  the  goods  contained  in  the  three  previous  no- 
tices, which  were  to  be  sold  on  account  of  the  Royal  Treasury, 
repeating  every  item  in  a  high,  intelligible  voice,  and  express- 
ing the  value  of  each  one,  according  to  the  apprizement ;  bids 
were  asked  from  all  the  attendant  parties,  and  no  bid  having 
l)een  made  until  after  repeated  calls,  Manuel  Hernandez,  a 
resident  of  La  Guaira,  came  out  and  made  a  bid  for  the  price 
ot  the  valuation  for  the  launch  rigged  as  a  schooner,  with  her 
•apparels,  for  tiie  other,  almost  worthless  one,  with  the  small, 
damaged  boat,  and  the  third  of  middle  use,  with  the  round 
sail  and  apparel  contained  in  the  apprizement,  the  six  hatch- 
ets, ten  Indian  drawers,  six  bundles  of  beads,  four  barrels  of 
powdered  salt,  all  of  which  amounted  to  two  hundred  and 
forty-nine  dollars.  Having  had  no  other  cash  bids  besides 
this  one,  it  was  admitted  by  their  Honors,  after  proclaiming 
repeatedly  and  calling  wdiether  there  was  any  other  bidder, 
until  sunset,  their  Honors  called  for  once,  twice  and  three 
times  for  a  higher  bid,  and  having  none  other  the  sale  was 
allowed  and  awarded  to  the  said  Manuel  Hernandez  as  the 
only  bidder  who,  being  present,  said  that  he  was  ready  to 
make  the  payment  in  cash,  and  it  was  done,  and  their  Honors 
signed  and  not  the  bidder,  who  did  not  know  how  to  write. 

Juan  Valdes. 

Lorenzo  Coronado. 

Before  me — 

Luis  Lopez  dk  la  Puente, 

Notary  Public,  and  of  the  Boyal  Treasury. 


Certificate  of  j^ayment. — On  the  eighth  day  of  the  month  of 
T'ebruar}'',  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty-one,  before 
me,  a  Notary  Public  and  of  the  Royal  Treasury,  appeared  at 


58 

tlie  Treasury  Office  Manuel  Hernandez,  a  resident  of  this  city, 
to  whom  I  certify  that  1  know,  and  said:  That  having  })ur- 
chasetl  at  auction  yesterday  the  three  vessels  and  the  several 
artieles  sold,  and  received  theni  to  his  full  satisfaction,  lie  ex- 
hif)ited  and  did  exhibit  the  amount  of  two  hundred  and  forty- 
nine  dollars,  which  was  his  bid  and  award,  for  whieh  T  ac- 
knowledge the  present  receipt,  and  hand  over  to  him  the 
present  certificate  of  payment  in  due  form.  He  did  not  sit>n, 
as  he  did  not  know  how  to  write.  At  his  re<|uest  one  of  the 
witnesses  signetl  for  him  before  me — 

Jose  Landre  y 
Salvatierra, 
at  the  request  of  flannel  Hernandez. 
Before  me — 

LorEZ    DE    LA  PUENTE, 

Sotai'ii  rnhlic,  and  oj  the  Royal  Treasury. 


lUile. — In  the  city  of  Santo  Thome,  do  la  Guayana,  on  the 
twenty-seventh  day  of  May,  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred 
and  sixty-one,  the  Captain-Commander,  Don  Juan  de  Dios 
N^aldes,  and  the  Lieutenant  of  Royal  Officers,  Don  Lorenzo 
Coronado,  said  :  That  they  had  just  received  a  dispatch  from 
the  (xovernoi'  and  Caj)tain-General  of  Royal  Officers  of  His 
Majesty  for  the  Provinces  of  Cnmana,  confirming  the  forfeit- 
ure and  award  in  favor  of  the  Jloyal  Treasury  of  the  vessels 
seized  at  the  P>arima  creek  l)y  the  Lieutenant  of  Infantry,  Don 
Juan  de  Dios  de  Flores,  and  directing  the  apportionment  of  the 
same,  according  to  the  Royal  laws,  preceded  by  the  apprise- 
ment  and  sale  at  auction  after  the  appointment  of  intelligent 
and  conscientious  experts  for  the  valuation;  and  as  all  those 
things  have  been  anticipated  for  the  reasons  above  mentioned 
in  the  rule  of  February  third,  they  ought  to  rule,  and  did 
rule,  that  an  authenticated  copy  bo  made  and  kept  in  this 
city  of  the  original  act  forwarded  to  his  Honor  at  the  city  of 
Cumana,  making  a  sworn  statement  at  the  foot  of  this,  by  the 
Lieutenant  of  Royal  Officers,  of  the  proeeeds  of  the  five  barrels 
of  salt  fish,  which  were  to  be  sold,  according  to  what  was  ruled 


59 

at  the  time,  and  of  the  expenses  and  costs  incurred.  It  was 
so  ruled  by  their  Honors  and  signed  before  witnesses,  as  the 
present  Notary  Public  has  ceased  in  his  functions. 

Juan  Valdes. 

Lorenzo  Corona do. 

Luis  Centkno. 

Diego  Ignacio  Marinos. 


I,  the  undersigned,  swear  and  certify,  as  Lieutenant  of  the 
Royal  Officers  of  this  Fortress  of  this  Guayana,  that  the  five 
barrels  of  salt  fish  of  the  size  of  flour  barrels  were  sold,  on 
account  of  whomsoever  might  be  favored  with  the  award  of 
the  forfeiture  of  the  same,  with  the  other  articles  contained 
in  the  present  act,  amounting  in  all  to  tw^enty-five  arrobas 
(twenty-five  pounds  w^eight),  at  the  rate  of  five  arrobas  per 
barrel  at  five  reals  per  arroba  (of  twenty-five  pounds),  which 
is  the  general  price  for  river  fish  ;  the  proceeds  of  said  twenty- 
five  arrobas  amounted  to  fifteen  dollars  and  five  reals,  which 
together  with  the  two  hundred  and  forty-nine  dollars,  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  other  effects,  make  in  all  tw^o  hundred  and  sixty 
four  dollars  and  five  reals,  errors  excepted,  etc.,  and  as  it 
agrees  with  the  proceeds  of  said  fish,  I  give  the  present  on  the 
tw^enty-seventh  day  of  March  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred 
and  sixty -one. 

Lorenzo  Coronado. 


Sivorn  statement  made  and  signed  by  me,  the  Lieutenant  of  the 
Royal  Officers,  about  the  costs  incurred  in  these  proceedings,  as 
follows  : 

Firstly,  for  three  cargoes  and  a  half  of  casave  furn- 
ished by  the  Commander,  at  the  rate  of  three  dollars 
a  cargo,  amount  to  ten  dollars  and  four  reals. 

For  nine  arrobas  of  beef  furnished  by  said  Com- 
mander, at  the  rate  of  six  reals  an  arroba,  amount 
to  six  dollars  and  six  reals. 


For  two  liuiidrctl  and  lorty-two  (days)  sub^^isluiice  of 
tlio  imprisoned  mustee  for  I'atiniis.  tVom  the  tWenty- 
eiglitli  day  nf  ScinptiMiilici'.  inclusive,  to  the  twenty- 
seventh  (hiy  of  Miiy  of  the  following:-  yeai'.  at  tiie 
rate  of  a  real  per  ration  of  eaidi  <lay.  thirty  dollars 
and  two  reals. 

For  thirty-three  folios  copied  and  certified  in  the 
present  pi-oeeecling's.  reinaininu  at  litis  Treasui'v 
Office. 

The  ahove  costs  are  the  same  as  imairred  in  this  city  of 
Guayana,  until  the  twenty-ninth  of  May  in  the  year  seven- 
teen hundred  and  sixty-caie. 

J.OKENZO  C'UKOX  A  !)( ). 


It  agrees  wdth  the  original  acts  forwarded  to  the  city  of 
Cuinana,  and  left  in  testimony  herewith  with  the  intervention 
of  the  Lieutenant  of  Royal  ( )fheei's,  alter  having  heen  verified 
and  corrected  in  thirty-three  folios,  exclusive  of  the  des])atcli 
accompanying  the  same. 

In  testimony  whereof,  we  sign  the  prestiit.  on  the  second 
day  of  June,  seventeen  hundreil  and  sixty-(»ne. 

L()i;i:x/()  CoRoxADo. 


Don  Jose  Diguja  Villagomez,  Colonel  of  the  Royal  Army, 
^Tovernor  and  Captain  General  of  these  Provinces  of  New 
Andalusia,  New  Barcelona,  The  Maindaiid,  and  Guayana; 
Don  Pedi'o  Luis  Martinez  de  CJordon  y  Lugo,  Accomptant, 
and  Don  Antonio  de  Alcala,  Treasurer,  Royal  Officers  of 
the  Treasnry  of  this  City  and  the  Provinces,  hy  the  King 
our  Lord,  etc. : 

Whereas  the  acts  pi'omoted  for  the  sei/air(^  of  a  scliooner, 
two  launches  and  two  curiaras  in  the  river  (Jrinoco,  we  have 
ruled  that  the  lii^uidation  made,  as  w'ell  as  the  apprizement,  of 
■costs  is  as  follows  : 


6i 

Expenses. — Sworn  statement  made  by  me,  the  Lieutenant  of 
Royal  officers,  about  the  costs  incurred  by  this  expedition,. 
which  were  as  follows  : 

First. — For  three  and  a  lialf  cargoes  of  casave  fur- 
nished by  the  Commander,  at  the  rate  of  three 
dollars  a  cargo,  ten  dollars  and  four  reals. 

Nine  arrobas  (twenty-five  pound  weight)  of  beef  fur- 
nished by  said  Commander,  at  the  rate  of  six  reals 
per  arroba,  six  dollars  and  six  reals. 

For  two  hundred  and  forty-two  days  subsistence  of 
the  imprisoned  mustee  for  rations  from  tlie  twenty- 
eighth  day  of  September,  inclusive,  to  the  twenty- 
seventh  day  of  May,  in  the  following  year,  at  the 
rate  of  a  real  per  day,  thirty  dollars  and  two  reals. 

For  thirt3'-three  folios  of  authenticated  copies  of 
these  acts  remaining  in  the  Royal  Treasury. 

Said  costs  are  correct,  and  the  same  as  were  incurred  in  this 
city  of  Guayana,  up  to  the  twenty-ninth  day  of  May,  in  the 
year  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty-one. 

Lorenzo  Coronado. 


Statement  of  costs  of  these  acts  made  by  me,  the  under- 
signed Notary  Public,  in  virtue  of  the  appointment  made  of 
myself,  a,s  follows  : 

First. — To  the  credit  of  the  Royal  Treasury  for 
twelve  folded  sheets  of  stamped  paper  of 
the  fourth  class,  wanted  for  the  conclusion 
of  these    acts,    at   seventeen  maravedis,  six 

reals 6. 

For  twenty  reals  paid  from  the  Royal  Treas- 
ury to  the  assessor,  in  compliance  with  the 
rule  of  the  sixth  of  last  November,  as  ex- 
hibited herewith 20.. 

To  the  Lieutenant  of  his  Honor,  Don  Lorenzo 
Coronado,  credited  for  ten  signatures  in  these 
acts  and  statements,  at  the  rate  of  twenty- 


62 

four  niaraN'tilis  for  ovcry  attendance  to  re- 
ceive four  sworn  statements  at  one  real  and 
two  confessions  of  the  two  jirisoners,  at  nine 
reals  each,  being  in  all  'IH.O'I 

For  {itteiidance  at  the  jiort  on  hoard  of  the 
embarkations  and  their  inventor\'^,  eighteen 
reals,  and  nine  more  for  the  attendance  to 
the  auction  sale,  on  the  day  of  the  sale 27.00 

Due  to  the  aj)i)ri/.ers,  Don  \'icente  Franco  and 
Don  Jose  Landre  de  Salvatierra,  for  their 
steps  and  apprizement  at  nine  reals  each 
one,  eighteen  reals IS. 

Due  to  the  original  Notary  Public  for  autiienti- 
cating  six  acts  at  twenty-four  maravedis 
each,  and  for  his  attendance  to  six  affidavits, 
including  six  acceptances  of  the  a[)prizers, 
the  first  at  twent3'-four  maravedis,  and  the 
rest  at  sixteen  ;  two  notifications  and  acts  at 
forty-eight;  twelve  original  folios  used  in 
writing  the  acts  and  affidavits,  and  thirty 
folios  of  copies,  according  to  the  entry  and 
statement  of  expenses,  at  tliirt3'--six  marave- 
dis; and  thirty-two  oi"  tlie  seal,  and  three 
reals  tor  common  pa])er  used  in  said  co})ies 
and  original  acts  all  worth 58.18 

For  the  attendance  to  take  two  confessions  to 
the  ])risoners,  at  nine  reals  each,  and  eigh- 
teen for  the  inventory  made  at  the  river  of 
the  vessel  and  other  articles,  all  of  which  is 
worth 3G. 

For  tlie  attendance  to  the  publications  con- 
cerning the  auction  sale,  at  nine  reals  each, 
and  four  for  the  receipt  of  the  articles  and  ex- 
hibit of  their  value,  and  sixteen  to  the  public 
crier,  for  the  four  evenings  attendance  to  the 
publication  of  notices  of  the  auction  sale, 
at  four  reals  each,  all  auionntinir  to  56. 


63 

Due  me,  the  Notary  Public,  for  authenticating 
four  acts  on  the  Hquidation  to  be  made,  in- 
cluding the  statement  of  the  present  act,  at 
forty  maravedis,  and  the  rest  at  twenty-four  ; 
and  for  countersigning  the  two  rogatory  let- 
ters that  have  been  sent,  at  fort}' ;  a  notifica- 
tion and  act,  forty-eight  maravedis  ;  six  orig- 
inal folded  sheets,  written  in  the  original 
acts,  and  the  liquidation  that  has  to  be 
entered,  and  three  folios  of  the  copy  delivered 
to  the  Royal  Officers,  at  twenty  ;  tlie  one 
sent  to  the  assessor,  at  thirty-six  maravedis  ; 
sixty-four  of  the  two  seals  and  nine  folios  of 
the  despatches  to  be  forwarded  containing 
this  valuation,  at  fifty-one  and  one  real 
spent  in  paper  for  said  copy,  amounting  in 
all  to 53.25 

For  the  time  and  work  employed  in  this  valua- 
tion..   6.00 


Making  the  total  sum  of  three  hundred  and 
nine  reals  and  eleven  maravedis,  as  it  ap- 
pears to  be  the  sum  due,  errors  excepted,  &c...  R. 309.11 


This  valuation  I  have  made  according  to  the  Royal  rates  in 
force,  and  in  the  usual  way  observed  by  regulation,  in  this  city 
of  Cumana,  on  the  twenty-first  day  of  July,  in  the  year  seven- 
teen hundred  and  sixty-one. 

Francisco  Ramirez, 
A  Notary  Public  for  the  Governor. 


Rule  for  the  division  and  liquidation. — In  the  city  of  Cumana, 
on  the  twenty-second  day  of  July,  in  the  year  seventeen  hun- 
dred and  sixty-one,  Don  Jose  Diguja  Villagomez,  Colonel  of 
the  Royal  Armies,  Governor  and  Captain  General  of  these 
Provinces  of  New  Andalusia,  New  Barcelona,  The  Main-land, 
and  Guayana  ;  Don  Pedro  Luis  Martinez  de  Gordon  }'  Lugo, 


G4 

Accoiii[»taiit,  ami  Don  Antonio  {](-  Alcala,  Ti'^asuriT,  IJoyal 
Officers  of  tlir  Trrasui-y  of  tliis  city  and  the  i'mvinccs  l)y  the- 
King  our  Lord,  liaving  seen  tlio  picceding  acts  sent  to  tlii>> 
Tril)unal  by  l)on  Juan  de  Dios  \'aldes,  Castillian  Captain  and 
Comniandt  r  of  the  (rarrison  of  Guayana,  and  Don  Lorenzo 
Coronado,  Lieutenant  of  their  Honors  in  the  Treasury  of  that 
place,  about  the  auction  sale,  to  the  amount  of  two  hundred 
and  sixty-lour  dollars  ami  five  reals  received  as  proceeds  of 
three  launches,  with  their  appurtenances,  four  barrels  of  sall,^ 
six  hatchets,  ten  Indian  drawers,  eight  knives,  six  bundles  of 
beads,  and  two  curiaras,  answering  lor  small  Ijoats  to  said 
launches;  all  seized  b}^  the  Lieutenant  of  Infantry,  Don  Juan 
dc  Dios  Flores,  in  the  Barima  Creek  of  the  Orinoco  river,  and 
their  Honors  said :  That  in  compliance  with  the  law  eleventh  of 
the  eighth  book,  title  seventeenth,  of  the  laws  of  Indias,  having 
in  mind  the  Royal  cedule,  dated  at  Aranjuez,  on  the  eleventh 
of  July,  seventeen  hundred  and  fifty-eight,  and  the  model 
form  accompanying  the  same,  they  made  the  account  and  di- 
vision and  lifpiidation  of  said  confiscation  in  the  following 
form  : 

Principal  proceeds  of  said  confiscation,  according  to 
the  auction  sale  and  statement  of  the  Lieutenant 
Royal  Officers  of  Guayana.  two  hundred  and  sixty- 
four  dollars  and  five  reals.  Deducting  tlie  Royal 
dues  to  His  Majesty  in  tlie  shape  of  custom-house 
duties  at  fifteen  per  cent. — thirty-nine  dollars  five 
reals  and  eighteen  and  three-ipiarters  maravedis — 
making  seventeen  reals  and  eighteen  and  a  half 
maravedis,  making  in  all  seventeen  hundi'ed 
ninety-six  and  a  half  maravedis. 

To  the  windward  S(|uadron,  at  two  i)er  cent.,  five  dol- 
lars two  reals  eleven  maravedis,  making  in  all  two 
reals  one  and  a  half  mai'avedis,  and  a  total  value 
of  one  tlu'Usand  four  hundred  and  nine  and  a  half 
maravedis. 

To  the  old  and  modern  excise  (alcabala),  at  four  ])er 
cent.,   ten   dollai's    four   ivals  twenty-three    and    a 


65 

quarter  maravedis,  making  in  all  eighty-four  reals 
and  twenty-three  maravedis,  say  two  thousand 
eight  hundred  sixty-nine  and  a  quarter  maravedis. 

That  all  three  charges  (or  dues)  amount  to  fifty-five 
dollars  four  reals  and  nineteen  and  a  quarter  mara- 
vedis. 

After  that  deduction  it  remains  a  total  sum  of  two 
hundred  and  nine  dollars  fourteen  and  a  half 
maravedis. 

Deducted  likewise  forty-seven  dollars  four  reals  of 
costs  incurred  in  Guayana,  according  to  the  state- 
ment made  by  said  Lieutenant  of  the  Royal  Offi- 
cers, and  thirty-eight  dollars  five  reals  and  eleven 
maravedis  of  the  cost  of  the  legal  proceedings  ac- 
cording to  the  preceding  valuation,  both  amounts 
making  a  total  of  eighty-six  dollars  one  real  and 
eleven  maravedis. 

The  remaining  net  sum  amounts  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty-two  dollars  seven  reals  three  and  a  half 
maravedis. 

From  said  sum  a  sixth  part  belongs  to  the  Judges 
who  passed  sentence  of  confiscation,  in  all  twenty 
dollars  three  reals  and  twenty-eight  and  three- 
(piarters  and  a  half  maravedis. 

From  this  remainder  reduced  to  one  hundred  and 
two  dollars  three  reals  eight  and  three-quarters 
maravadis — 

Deduct  the  third  part,  corresponding  to  the  person 
"  who  denounced  the  act,  and  if  there  is  no  such  per- 
son it  will  be  added  to  the  portion  belonging  to  the 
Royal  Treasury,  amounting  to  thirt\'-four  dollars 
one  real  two  and  three-quarter  maravedis. 

And  from  this  remainder  reduced  to  sixty-eight  dol- 
lars two  reals  and  six  maravedis — 

Must  be  deducted  a  fourth  part  bonus,  belonging  to 
those  who  effected  the  seizure  of  the  articles  con- 
fiscated, amounting  to  seventeen  dollars  seventeen 
and  a  quarter  and  a  half  maravedis. 

V  OL.  II,  Ven.— 5 


66 

From  wlicrc  it  i-eniains  yet  the  Mini  nf  lifly-oiie  dol- 
lars one  real  twenty-two  and  a  half  maravcdis. 

To  wliich  it  is  added,  in  favor  of  the  Uoyal  Treasury, 
the  third  })art  dcMUieted  for  the  ])ersoii  who  de- 
nounced the  delaull ,  thirty-four  doilai'sone  real  two 
and  three-(|uarters  niaruvedis.  fSo  that  it  remains 
in  favor  of  His  Majesty,  out  of  the  present  confis- 
cation, eighty-five  dollars  two  reals  and  twentj^-five 
and  a  quarter  maravedis,  making  six  hundred  and 
eighty-two  reals  twenty-five  and  a  quarter  and  a 
half  maravedis,  or  twenty-three  thousand  two  liun- 
dred  and  thirteen  and  a  (juartt-r  and  a  half  mara- 
vedis. 

And  to  carry  out  this  licjuidation  the  Lieutenant  of  the 
Royal  Oflficers  will  proceed  to  make  the  charges  shown  in  his 
hooks  and  those  of  the  Stations,  where  they  belong,  in  favor  of 
the  Royal  Treasury,  so  as  to  pay  the  expenses  incurred  in  this 
expedition  and  the  costs  of  the  legal  proceedings  belonging  to 
that  Tribunal.  He  will  deliver  to  tlie  Commander  of  that 
place  a  fourth  j>art,  belonging  to  those  who  effected  the  seizure, 
so  as  to  distribute  the  same  among  them,  and  send  to  the 
Royal  Treasurer's  Office  the  sixth  })art,  belonging  to  the 
Justices,  and  costs  of  the  proceedings,  belonging  to  that  city. 
Rogator}^  letters  will  be  sent  to  the  said  Commander  and 
Lieutenant,  in  order  to  have  them  both  to  carry  out,  with  the 
present  insertion  of  the  statement  and  valuation  of  said  costs 
and  expenses,  the  tenor  of  this  rule  of  His  Honor.  It  was  so 
ordered  and  signed. 

Don  Jose  Diguja. 

Pedro  Luis  Martinez  de  Gordon  y  Lrcio. 

Don  Antonio  de  Alcala. 

Before  me — 

Francisco  Ramirez, 
Royal  Notary  Public  and  Lieutenant  of  the  Trca^tn-y. 


Therefore,  in  onler  to  carry  out  the  contents  of  the  above  rule, 
we  order  to  the  ('oniiiiander  and  Lieutenant  of  the  Fortress  of 


67 

Guayaiia  to  take  notice  of  the  above  rale,  and  carry  it  into 
effect  faithfully  and  punctually,  in  regard  to  every  thing 
therein  expressed,  according  to  the  present  despatch,  given 
and  signed  in  the  city  of  Cumana  on  the  twenty-second  day 
of  July,  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty-one. 

Jose  Diguja. 

Pedro  Luis  Martinez  de  Gordon  y  Lugo. 

Antonio  de  Alcala. 

By  command  of  His  Honor — 

Francisco  Ramirez, 

Notary  Public  and  Lieutenant  of  the  Treasury. 


In  the  cit}'  of  Santo  Thome  de  la  Guayana,  on  the  third 
day  of  September,  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty- 
one,  in  compliance  with  the  rule  of  His  Honor  contained  in 
the  preceding  act,  the  Commander  Don  Juan  V aides  and  the 
Lieutenant  of  Royal  Officers  said  :  that  they  were  to  give  and 
gave  a  full  compliance  to  the  same,  and  that  in  regard  to  the 
allowance  granted  the  Officers  who  made  the  seizure,  the  Com- 
mander said  that  he  would  receive  and  did  receive  the  seven- 
teen dollars  and  seventeen  maravedis,  to  be  distributed  among 
the  said  creditors.  As  to  the  rest  of  the  contents  of  said 
despatch,  the  Lieutenant-Commander  of  Royal  Officers  took 
charge  of  the  distribution  of  the  proceeds  of  the  confiscation  in 
the  several  corresponding  stations.  It  was  so  agreed  and 
ruled,  signing  herewith. 

Juan  Valdes. 

Lorenzo  Coronado. 

Luis  Centeno  de  Brito. 

Jose  Francisco   de  Ventancourt. 

This  copy  agrees  with  the  original  document  existing  in 
the  General  Archives  of  Indias,  in  stand  131,  case  7,  docket 
17.  Seville,  the  25th  day  of  December,  1890.  The  Director 
of  Archives.  Carlos  Jimenez  Placer — [here  is  a  flourish]. 
Seal.     General  Archive  of  Indias. 


«8 

Tlif  uii(k*i'siuiu''l.  < 'i)ii>ul-(  ic'iicral  of  N'onzucla  in  S|i;uii^ 
certities  to  1  lie  autliciiticity  ol'  the  siuiuitiu'i'  oi'  Sciioi'  ('arli)s 
.liniciiez  Placi'f,  ('liicl' <»t' the  GuiuTal  Afcliivcs  dt'  Iiidias. 

Madrid,  Htli  of  January   ISUI. 

P.    FoKTnri.T    IIlKTADO. 

'riie  iind(i'sii;iK'd,  MiiiisU'i  of  l'\ji'ci^ii  A  Hair-  of  the  I'liitcd 
States  of  W'uezuela,  certifies  to  the  authenticity  of  the  sit;iia- 
ture  of  Senor  Pedro  FortouU  llurtaih*.  < 'onsul-(  icneral  of 
V^eiiezuela  in  Sj»ain  on  tlie  above  date. 

Caracas,  .\hiivh  the  sixtli,  1806. 

[seal.]  p.     l->.K<iCIKL    Po.IAS.. 

^^inistrv  of  I'^oreiun  .Mfaiis. 


<)9 
No.  7. 

'[Translation.] 

Stand  131.— Case  2.— Docket  17. 
Ges'eral  Archive.?  of  Indias  — -(Seville. 


17  70.— L.etter  Xo.  41  from  Don  Pedro  J.  tie  Urriitia  to 
Don  Julian  rte  Arriaga,  iuformiiig-  him  of  the  com- 
plaint of  the  Minister  from  Holland,  on  account  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  Spaniards  estahlished  in  the 
Orinoco  against  the  Colony  of  Esqiiivo. 

(Dated  in  Cunmna,  May  10,  1770.) 


■Orif/inal  No.  Ifl. —  The  Governor  of  Cumana,  in  compliance  luith 
a  Royal  order  quoted,  reports,  wUh  the  justifying  documents 
he  refers  to,  luhat  is  offered  and  seems  to  him  to  be  the  facts  as 
contained  in  said  papers,  about  tlie  complaint  made  by  tlie 
Minister  of  Holland  against  tlte  conduct  of  the  Spaniards 
established  on  the  Orinoco  against  the  Colony  of  Esquioo,  so 
that  His  Majesty,  in  vieio  of  everything,  may  decide  what  his 
pleasure  mai/  be  on  the  subject. 

Most  Excellent  Sir  :  On  the  thirtieth  of  March  of  the 
present  year,  as  shown  by  the  triplicate  herewith,  I  made  your 
Excellency  acquainted  with  receipt  of  the  Royal  order  of  the 
twenty-third  of  September  ultimo,  accompanied  witli  the 
paper  in  whicli  the  Minister  of  Holland  complained  of  the 
conduct  of  the  Spaniards  established  on  the  Orinoco  against 
the  Colony  of  Esquivo,  stating  the  facts,  and  I  promised  to 
address  the  report  received,  with  the  corresponding  grounds 
justifying  the  same,  for  your  knowledge  and  instruction. 

In  compliance,  I  inform  your  Excellency  that  the  only  facts 
that  I  have  found  to  have  occurred  befora  the  separation  of 
the  Province  of  Guayana  from  this  Government,  were  due  to 


70 

the  sniiic  IliiUaiiilcrs  ol'  tlic   lU'i^li boring-   Colniiy  of  Ksquivo, 
close   to   the    iMissions   of    the    Reverend    Catalan    Capuchin 
Fathers  of  said  Province;   as  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred 
and  tifty-eight,  (hiring  the  Government  ad  interim  of  Don  Xic- 
ohis  de  Castro,  when  the  Prefect  of  the  same  Mission  sent  a 
dispatch   minutely  informing  the  then  Commander  of  that 
P^'ortress  of  the  serious    injuries  and    deatli    which   occurred 
when  the  Caribs  of  the  (K'sert,  inthienced  by  tlie  Escpiivo  Hol- 
landers, had   killcil    many  of  the  (luaica  Indians  in  his  new 
Mission,  in  the  district  of  liauchica;    that  fearing  yet  greater 
evils  around  the  other  settlements,  he  applied  for  an  immedi- 
ate remedy,  as  the  chief  cause  of  these  evils  was  the  constant 
suggestions  and  persuasions  of  the  same  Hollanders  to  the  Ca- 
ribs, in  order  to  avoid  their  being  reduced  to  any  settlement 
with  tlic  Spaniards  and   foster  enmity  against  the  holy  pur- 
pose of  restraining  the  al)ominable   commerce,  kei)t  through 
the  Caribs,  giving  them  goods  and  iron  utensils  in  exchange 
for  Poyto   Indians  (whicli   means  slaves);  said   Caribs  are  in 
the  habit  of  waging  wai',  and  apprehend  the  Poytos,  so  as  to 
sell  them  to  said  Colony  of  Esquivo  ;    tlie  consequence  was  to 
prevent  the  progress  and  extension  of  the  Gospel,  as  well  as 
the  reduction  of  the  gentiles,  especially  as  the  Hollanders, 
trespassing  the  ])oundary  of  their  Colony,  came  to  extend  their 
territory,  in  order  to  continue  this  kind  of  commerce  within 
the  dominions  of  His  Majesty  and   in   the  neighborhood  and 
frontiers  of  tlie  last  Missions;    this  fact  is  proved  by  the  estab- 
lishment, with   permission  of  the  Governor  Lorenzo  Storens 
Gravesende,  of  a  Guard    house  in  the  island    called   Caramii- 
cura,  in  the  Cuyuni  river,  within  the  territory  of  the  Missions 
(which  undoul)tedly  is  the  same  as  the  Hollan<lers  call  in  their 
said  i)ai)er  the  Cayoeiiiy  river).  l)eeause  this  place  never  lias 
been   considered   as   belonging   to   the   Colony  of  Esquivo,  as 
stated  in  the  said  dispatch  of  tlie  Prefect ;    the  Commander  of 
the  Guayana,  after  having  been  notified  of  all  these  facts,  sent 
an  expedition  of  troops  to  the  Cuyuni   River  with  the  neces- 
sary instructions  to  dislodge  the  Hollanders  from  that  Post, 
and  to  seize  the  Indian  slaves,  or  Poytos,  and  any  others  to  be 
found  there,  as  it  was  carried  out,  notwithstanding  the  resist- 


71 

aiice  of  the  Hollander  in  command  of  the  Post,  and  the  death 
of  one  of  the  soldiers  and  the  wounding  of  another  pending  the 
conflict,  at  the  end  of  that  expedition ;  that  on  this  affair  the 
Commander  instituted  an  investigation  of  the  facts  showing 
what  had  happened,  and  sent  the  same,  with  the  Hollanders 
arrested  in  the  act  of  resistance,  to  the  said  Governor  ad  in- 
terim, Don  Nicolas  de  Castro,  who  took  the  opinion  of  a  learned 
assessor,  wlio  extended  the  same  in  writing,  advising  to  have 
the  proceedings  forwarded  to  His  Majesty  and  the  Royal  Su- 
preme Council  of  Indias ;  but  there  is  no  evidence  showing 
whether  he  did  so  or  not,  or  what  became  of  the  arrested  Hol- 
landers. 

The  Governor  of  Esquivo,  having  been  informed  of  the  facts 
and  of  the  imprisonment  of  the  two  Hollanders  at  the  Cuyuni 
river,  sent  a  despatch  to  the  same  Commander  of  Guayana, 
claiming  the  same,  who  forwarded  it  without  returning  any 
answer  to  the  already  mentioned  Governor  ad  interim,  Don 
Nicolas  de  Castro,  who  answered  the  same  to  that  of  Esquivo. 
The  testimony  herewith  shows  everything  herein  stated,  as 
your  Excellency  wdll  find  it. 

After  the  answer  given  by  Don  Nicolas  de  Castro,  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Esquivo  sent  a  case  addressed  to  the  Commander  of 
Guayana,  who  finding  out  that  it  contained  one  map  and  a 
despatch,  without  any  further  act  closed  it  and  returned  it  to 
the  Governor  by  the  same  bearers,  as  everything  appears 
stated  in  the  testimony  herewith  accompanied.  No  other 
documents  are  found  at  this  Government  ofiice,  nor  in  the 
Public  Archives,  besides  the  contents  of  these  two  testimonies 
and  a  Royal  order,  a  copy  of  which  was  sent  bearing  date 
March  the  thirtieth,  seventeen  hundred  and  fifty-three,  by  the 
Government  of  Madrid,  and  notified  to  the  Marquis  of  la  En- 
senada  as  a  remedy  to  the  injury  and  death  occasioned  by  the 
Caribs  in  the  said  Missions  of  Guayana  under  the  influence  of 
the  Esc^uivo  Hollanders,  and  the  other  reasons  stated  in  the 
same.     His  Majesty  will  show  his  pleasure  about  this  subject. 

May  our  Lord  keep  the  person  of  your  Excellency  in  His 
Holy  guard,  as  it  is  my  desire.  Cumana,  May  the  tenth, 
seventeen  lumdred  and  seventy. 


Most  I-'.xccllfiit  Sir.  kissiiio-  tin-  liaiMl  of  vour  Ivxrrllfiicv,  his 
most  obedient  servant, 

PkDRO    JoSKI'II     DK    I'ltltrTIA. 

To   the  Most  Exeellent    Serior    Bailey   Fray    Don    Julian    de 
Arriao;a. 

The  I'oregoing  is  a  true  copy  of  the  original  doeuinent  kept 
in  the  General  Archives  of  the  Indias,  in  the  Stand  lol,  Case 
2,  Docket  17.  Seville,  January  T2th,  18<)1.  The  Chief  of  the. 
Archives,  Carlos  Jimenez  Placer — [hero  is  a  flourish].  Seal. 
(Jeneral  Archives  of  Indias. 

The  undersigned,  Consul  (Jeneral  of  N'enezuela  in  Spain,  cer- 
tifies to  the  authenticity  of  the  signature  of  Senor  Carlos 
Jimenez  Placer,  Chief  of  the  (leneral  Archives  of  Indias. 

Madrid.  January  27th,  1891. 

P.    FORTOl'LT    HlKT-Vno. 

The  undersigned,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  of  tlie  United 
States  of  Venezuela,  certifies  to  the  authenticity  of  the  signa- 
ture of  Senor  Pedro  Fortoult  llurtado,  Consul  (*leneral  of 
W-nezuela  in  Sjiain  at  the  a])ove  date. 

Caracas,  March  the  ()th,  J8!»('). 

[SE.M..]  P.    EZEQUIKI.    lio.IAS. 

Ministrv  of  Foreign  Affairs. 


73 

Xo.  VI  n. 

Siand   131. — Case  7 — .Docket  17. 
Gene?.al  Archive.?  of  Indies. — (.Seville.  ) 


1768. 


-Abstract  of  the  proceedings  instituted  about  tl»e 
pretensions  of  the  Minister  of  Holland,  in 
trying  to  assume  any  rights  of  domain  on  the 
borders  of  the  Esquivo  Colony,  also  stating 
that  the  subjects  of  Spain  established  on  tlie 
Orinoco  disturb  and  prevent  the  Hollanders 
from  fishing. 

30  folded  sheets. 


8tiind  131.— Case  7.— Docket  17. 

Abstract  of  the  proceedings  instituted  a1)0ut  the 
pretensions  of  the  Minister  of  Holhmd  in  trying  to 
assume  any  rights  of  domain  in  the  Esquivo  Colony 
and  of  fishing  in  that  part  of  the  Rio  Negro,  and 
stating  that  the  sulyects  of  His  Majesty,  the  King 
of  Spain,  estaldished  on  the  Orinoco,  disturb  and 
prevent  the  Hollanders  from  fishing  there.  To  said 
proceedings  the  antecedents  of  another  investiga- 
tion is  added  in  reference  to  the  remittance  to  the 
Council,  as  a  reserved  matter,  of  an  order  of  January 
the  fifteenth,  in  the  year  1768,  with  a  despatch  from 
the  Ambassador  of  England,  in  which  he  proposed 
to  make  restitution  of  the  negroes,  coming  to  our 
islands  in  America  from  theirs,  and  to  fix  public 
notices  for  the  purpose,  so  as  to  be  maturely  exam- 
ined  bv  the  Council,   consulting    His    Majesty,  in 


Letter    H. 
No.  1 . 


74 

order  td  li<ar  liis  |ilc;isuic  ou  tliu  :>ul)j\'ct  taking-  in 
consideration  the  report  ot"  the  Treasurer  and  the 
answer  of  the  Attorneys  of  the  Reveniu-  ;  the  con- 
sultation to  His  Majesty  was  ad(]ressed  on  the 
9tli  of  Ma}',  17G8,  by  the  Council,  in  the  way 
they  thought  pro})er,  hearing  in  mind  the  conven- 
tion concluded  and  ratified  b}'  His  Majesty  with  the 
King  of  Denmark  u])on  the  same  subject  of  desert- 
ers, between  the  ishmd  of  Porto  Rico  and  tliose  of 
Saint  Cross,  Saint  Tliomas,  and  Saint  John  ;  said 
consultation  is  still  pending  and  awaiting  the  reso- 
hition  of  His  Majesty. 

Stateineiit. 

Ciiso    ot        Paragraph  1.  Having  sent  to  the  Council,  as  a  re- 
theday.  scrvcd  matter,  together  witii  the  Koytil  order  of  Sep- 

tember 10,   1769,  a  despatch  from  the  jNIinister  of 
Holland,  complaining  of  the  conduct  of  the  Span- 
iards established  on  the  Orinoco,  against  the  Dutch 
colony  of  Esquivo,  in  order  to  examine  the  same 
and    consult  His  Majesty   about  the   extension    of 
those  boundaries  and  the  alleged  right  by  the  Re- 
public to  fish  at  the  entrance  of  the  Orinoco  river  ; 
L<tt.r   n.    the  Council  ordered  l>y  decree  of  the  12th  of  said 
At    iiiai--     month  ami  year  to  deliver  the  same  to   the  trans- 
^    ■  lator,  urging   an    immediate  translation  to  be  for- 

warded   to  the  Attorney,   with  all  the  antecedents 
Docket  of     {"'   he   found    ou  the  subject.     Tlie   translation   was 
iV!^T'.hm'j1;     made,  and    the    (lesi)atch,  with   the  antecedents,  de- 
.M'iii.'d.'iy.'     livered  to  the   Attorney  ;  and  the  Council,  in  con- 
i,.ttcr  .lo.    formity  with  this  report,  consulted  His  Majesty,  on 
No. .{.  the  '27i]i  of  September,  1709.     That  in  order  to  act 

No.  I.  with  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  ca.se,  of  such  an 

absorbing  importance,  it  was  necessary  to  examine 
the  several  documents  (pioted  in  the  consultation, 
so  that  in  ctise  that  there  was  no  difficulty,  and  if 
it  was  the  pleasure  of  His  Maje.sty  to  request  the 
Secretai'v  of  State  to  send  to  those  Kingdoms  the 


75 


information  desired,  and  l)y  the  same  to  send  notice 
to  the  Council,  with  all  the  documents  concerned. 

No.  2.  And  in  compliance  with  the  royal  orders 
of  the  22d  of  September,  1770,  the  Bailiff  sent  the 
documents  contained  in  an  index,  accompanying 
the  same  and  explained  by  a  letter  from  Don  Jose 
Iturriaga  dated  on  the  12th  of  June,  1757,  where  a 
description  is  given  of  the  Apure  river  and  the 
Province  of  Barinas,  accompanied  in  six  folios, 
without  date  or  signature.  Another  letter  from  the 
same,  dated  on  the  IGth  of  June  of  the  same  year, 
in  which  he  dwells  upon  the  subject  of  keeping  or 
demolishing  the  Castle  of  Araya.  Another  letter 
from  the  same  Ituriiaga,  under  the  date  of  the  15th 
of  December,  1757,  about  the  instructions  that  he 
gave  after  receiving  the  report  that  the  Hollanders 
were  erecting  a  fortress  on  the  Maruca  (Moroco) 
river,  with  the  copy  of  a  letter  of  the  2d  of  the  same 
month  of  December  to  Don  Juan  Valdes.  Another 
from  the  same  Iturriaga,  dated  on  the  19th  of  April, 
1758,  in  which  he  reports  that  the  Hollanders  pre- 
tended to  extend  their  dominions  on  Esquivo  to  the 
large  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  with  another  cop}^  of 
that  of  the  3d  of  March  of  the  same  Don  Juan 
Valdes.  A  report  of  Don  Josef  Solano  on  the  sub- 
jects contained  in  the  four  preceding  letters  from 
Iturriaga,  with  a  map  attached  to  it. 

A  letter  from  the  Commander  of  Guayana,  dated 
on  the  5th  of  April,  1770,  in  which  he  reports,  with 
accompanying  proofs,  the  subjects  of  the  complaints 
made  by  the  Minister  of  Holland  of  the  conduct  of 
the  Spaniards  of  the  Orinoco  against  the  Esquivo 
Colony,  together  with  a  general  plan  of  the  Pro- 
vince of  Guayana  and  nine  separate  copies  authenti- 
cated of  original  proceedings  accompanied.  Another 
letter  from  the  Governor  of  Cumana,  dated  on  the  10th 
of  May  in  the  same  year,  in  which  he  reports,  with 
justifying  documents,  the  contents  of  the  same  matter. 


Docket 
do. 

Letter  M. 

No.  2. 

Docket 
do. 

Letter  P. 

No.  1. 

No.  2. 

No.  3. 


No.  4. 


No.  0. 


No.  0. 


No.  7. 


7() 

the  colli  I  ilai  Ills  of  tin-  M  iiiistcr  of  1 1  ol  la  ml  ciiilnai't-d 
ilia  Ifttcr  I'roin  the  .>^aiiic  ( iovrrnoron  the  .'!(Uli  of  the 
jti'i'vious  luoiitli  of  Maivli.  One  coj)y  of  the  J\oyai 
order  of  tlie  oUth  of  Mnrcli,  1753,  and  a  testimony  in 
52  folios.  A  petition  from  the  Prefect  of  the  Mis- 
sions of  tlie  Catalan  Cai)nchins  of  tlie  Province  of 
(Jnayaiia.  dated  on  the  <)tli  of  -Inly,  17<')-',  in  whieli 
he  rcjioits  w  hat  lunl  ha|i|>cn('d  in  in^a rd  to  the  three 
Indians  that  lia<l  hrcii  purchased  with  their  daULili- 
tt'rs  and  enslaved  l)y  the  Hollanders,  havinij;  l)ecn 
taken  away  throu<2,h  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco  ;  with 
aiiothir  letter  from  the  same  Prefect,  of  the  same 
date,  with  two  documents  marked  with  the  letters 
A  B  each,  one  a  copy  of  inijtructions,  another  one  of 
debts  to  be  collected  from  the  Caribs  by  the  Master 
of  the  Post,  and  a  tabulated  statement  of  tlie  Mis- 
sions. Noticing  that,  in  the  Royal  oi'der  with  wdiicli 
the  documents  were  foi'wardcil  to  the  Council  it 
was  sai<l  that  they  had  bt'eii  sent  to  the  l>eiiartment 
of  State  in  oi'der  to  find  out  whether  the  missing 
documents  were  foun<l  there,  and  if  such  were  the 
case  to  have  them  forwai'ded  :  that  anothei'  Poyal 
oi-dei'  exists,  dati'd  the  (ith  of  Sejitember,  1770,  in 
which  the  Council  I'epoils  the  fact  that  they  were 
not  found  in  the  Department,  and  had  lieen  asked 
loi'  tlu'  action  of  the  Council  to  be  taken  in  I'c- 
gard  to  the  case;  therefore,  in  pursuance  (»1'  the  de- 
cree of  the  Council  of  the  12th  of  Septemlier,  17')*.>, 

i-.ticrx.  an  index  was  made  at  the  I  )epartment  of  the  several 
l)apers,  in  reference  to  this  subject,  and  although 
they  are  many,  we  will  oidy  consider  those  in  con- 

N"-  I.  nection  with    the    jii-esent  subject  at  the  time.     An- 

other index  of  several  consultations  made  at  differ- 
ent times  ujion  the  same  subject,  and  having  been 
submitted  to  the  Attorney,  as  it    had   been  directed, 

Lcttero.  jij^.  an.swer,  dated  August  the  ()th,  1774,  advised  the 
Council  to  comj»ly  with  their  decree  of  the  1st  of 
.Sei)tember  of  the  same  year,  and  sent  the  matter  to 


I..II.I-.M. 

1--..1.  I. 


-No.  1. 


Letter  O. 


No.  1.  lolic 
1-11. 


77 

the  Relator  with  all  notes,  abstracts,  and  all  the 
antecedents,  so  that  he  might  report  the  result  to 
his  Majesty,  and  it  was  so  carried  ont. 

Siippleineiit  I. 

Stand  3.  xVnd,  in  order  to  fnlly  understand  this  ^'^'^^^^  3. 
subject,  it  must  be  sajiposed  that,  in  the  letter  sent  to  ooVeYnor 
the  Council  by  the  Governor  of  Cumana,  Don  Gre-  iV)i.  ;i"'"'^""^' 
gorio  Espinosa,  dated  the  1st  of  February,  1742,  he 
accompanied  the  actssliowing  the  demarcations  and 
boundaries  of  the  jurisdiction  of  that  Government 
and  that  of  Venezuela  ;  and  that  by  such  boundaries 
the  extreme  limits  had  been  fixed  dividing  the  Pro- 
vince of  Caracas  and  sea  coast  along  the  Codera  Cape 
and  thence  ruiniing  a  line  eastward  across  the  moun- 
tains of  Santa  Lucia  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Orituco 
i-iver  and  following  its  waters  down  to  the  plains  to 
the  entrance  of  the  Guarico  river  and  going  down 
the  stream  to  where  it  disembogues  in  the  Orinoco 
river,  and  following  its  current  down  to  the  mouth  Des.-rij.- 
of  tlie  same,  where  it  empties  into  the  sea.  And  fol-  map  i.y  ni- 
lowing  the  geographical  description  and  notes  in- 
serted for  the  explanation  of  the  general  map  of 
the  Government  of  Cumana  forwarded  by  the 
Governor,  Don  Josef  Diguja,  in  the  year  1761,  it  is 
said  that  the  boundaries  of  the  Province  of  Cumana 
are  ;  on  the  east,  the  mouths  of  the  Orinoco  river,  the 
Guarapichie  river,  and  the  point  of  Parla;  on  the 
north,  the  same  point  of  Paria,  a  three-pointed  cape, 
following  along  the  coast  of  Araya  and  the  Gulf  of 
Cariaco  down  to  the  point  at  the  town  of  Pozuelos, 
which  is  already  in  the  Province  of  Barcelona;  on 
the  west,  from  the  said  town  to  the  table  land  of 
<  iuanipa,  from  where  another  line  is  retraced  towards 
the  east,  following  it  until  it  reaches  the  Orinoco, 
opposite  Guayana. 

That  the  Castle  of  Araya  is  one  of  the  best  strong-    foho  29.. 
holds,  and  that  it  was  erected   to  defend  from  the 


Kolio  (Ki. 


78 

Dutch  a  lai'iic'  salt-i>it  that  had  hccii  watered. 
Other  salt-pits  liave  been  since  discovered,  leading 
to  the  i(h'a  of  demolishing  said  fort,  as  it  seems  that 
it  was  done.  That  the  Province  of  Guayana  has 
for  !)()un(hiries:  On  the  east,  all  the  coast  in  which 
are  situated  tlie  Dutcli  Colonies  of  Esquivo,  Bervis, 
Demcrari,  Corentin,  and  Surinama,  and  more  to  the 
windward  the  Cayana,  belonging  to  the  French; 
on  the  north,  the  banks  of  the  Orinoco  dividing  the 
Provinces  of  Cumana,  Barcelona,  Caracas,  Barinas, 
Santa  Fe,  and  Popayan,  which  forms  half  a  circle 
returning  to  the  east,  towards  the  source  of  the 
Parima  Lake,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  general  map 
of  said  Provinces  and  river;  on  the  south,  with 
the  dominions  of  the  most  Faithful  King  in  Brazil, 
the  boundaries  of  wliich  and  said  Province  of  Guay- 
ana not  being  known,  nor  its  contents  in  the  center. 
And  in  I'egard  to  tlie  rivers  Orinoco,  Caroni,  Aruy, 
and  Oaura,  it  is  said  that  at  forty  leagues  from  the 
Aruy  the  Caura  enii)ties  its  waters  as  the  largest 
river  running  thi'ough  large  rocks,  preventing  the 
navigation  of  vessels  larger  than  canoes  or  small 
launches;  that  the  sources  of  this  river  are  sixty 
leagues  far  frojn  where  it  empties  its  waters  and 
takes  its  origin  IVoni  high  mountains  inhabited  by 
many  Indians  disturbed  by  the  Caribs  who  sieze 
children  and  women  to  sell  them  to  the  Hollanders, 
and  exterminate  the  older  Indians  by  every  i»ossible 
means;  that  east  of  the  coast  of  Guayana  are  situ- 
ated the  Dutch  Colonies  of  Fsquivo,  Demerari,  Ber- 
I'oiio  nil.  vis^  Corentin,  and  ^^urinam,  according  to  the  infor- 
mation received  by  Don  .Juan  de  Dios  Valdes, 
Connnander  of  Guayana.  That  of  Esquivo  consists 
of  cane  plantations,  which  at  the  distance  of  thirty 
leagues  were  held  by  the  Hollanders,  who  planted 
the  same  by  the  margins  of  the  Esquivo  river;  that 
.said  Dutch  Provinces  are  most  injurious  to  Guay- 
ana, especially  that  of  F-^quivo  as  the  nearest  to  the 


Folio  lis. 


79 

Orinoco.  That  they  enter  through  the  same  river 
and  those  of  Mazaroni  and  Cuyuni  protected  by  the 
Carib  Indians  of  that  Province,  whom  they  enslave 
and  sell  just  as  they  do  with  the  negroes  employed 
on  their  plantations  and  farms. 

That  in  order  to  seize  the  poor  Indians  they  resort 
to  every  means  their  cupidity  and  tyranny  suggests, 
trying  to  secure  their  friendship  with  the  Caribbean 
tribes,  warlike  and  ferocious,  who  overrun  all  that 
extensive  Province,  as  well  as  those  of  Barcelona, 
Caracas,  and  Santa  Fe,  in  quest  of  other  Indians,  on 
whom  they  always  secure  predominance,  on  account 
of  their  peaceful  and  good  nature ;  that  they  were 
continually  assaulted  in  their  ranches  and  lands ; 
that  those  of  age  were  killed  and  their  children  and 
women  captured  to  be  sold  as  slaves ;  that  these  in- 
cursions very  frequently  disturbed  the  Missions  of 
the  Catalan  Capuchin  Fathers,  not  so  firmly  estab- 
lished yet,  as  their  Indians  were  taken  away,  or  in 
fear  of  the  Caribs  took  to  the  woods ;  that  there  was 
no  means  to  stoj^  them,  on  account  of  their  cowardly 
and  timid  nature ;  that  sometimes,  if  there  was  a 
Spanish  Guard  in  the  vicinity,  they  used  to  put 
themselves  under  its  protection ;  that  the  native 
Hollanders  of  the  Colony  used  to  accompany  the 
Caribs  and  give  them  instruction  in  the  manage- 
ment of  arms,  and  w^ere  still  more  inhuman  than 
the  Caribs,  making  necessary  a  great  vigilance  to 
stop  them  and  defend  said  Missions  which  they 
procured  to  destroy  so  as  to  remove  their  opposition 
to  the  plans  of  their  Colonies ;  that  the}'  took  the 
silver  and  goods  from  Cumana  in  exchange  for  iron 
utensils,  machetes,  knives,  cotton,  and  linen  goods 
coming  from  the  Dutchmen  and  Indians  of  the  Is- 
land of  Curacoa  ;  that  this  commerce  is  very  obnoxi- 
ous, because  they  resell  the  goods  to  the  poor  peoi:)le, 
and  this  trade  can  not  be  made  without  the  consent 
and  the  interest  of  those  who  command,  and  if  that 


Folio  iw. 


Folio  laj. 


60 

wcrr  not  the  casr  it  wniild  be  very  easy  to  rciiu-dy  the 
('\'il.as  it  was  done  hy  the  ( iovcriioi- at  that  tiiuc. 

Aiit<'ce«l<'iits  vvitlioiit  a   Solution. 


Docket  . 
u  us  o  I  \-|' 
:i  n  I  (•  (•  <■  (1 

flits. 


[-(•Hit  a. 


liou 


[         lit.    With  (hif  aiitifi|»ati()ii  thr  comiilaiiit  iiukU'  by 
the  Miiii.sler  ol'  Jlullaiul   on  the  .subjeets   lieretotbi'e 
mentioned  was  submitted  to  the  Council  by  order  of 
Xos.  Kvj.     the  Kinjj,-,  ami  under  date  of  the  11th  of  .May,  1708, 
another  des{)ateh  from  the  And)assador  of  England 
inteiidiiig  to  ])rove  that  the   runaway  negroes  from 
their  island, coming  to  ours  in  America,  ouglit  to  be 
returned  home,  and  tliat  cartels  or  public  advices  of 
the  case  fixed;    that  in  view  of  said  documents  and 
after  the  examination  of  the  case  the  Council  would 
report  ;  that  in  furtherance  of  the  decrees  of  the  14tii 
Xos. .iA-  I      ^^*  ^hirch  and  the  IStli  of  January  to  the  Treasurer 
Traiisia-    ''^^'^  his  Attomeys,  ))recede(l  by  a  translation  of  the 
couli'nts  of  said    Amltassador's^  a  despatch  was  ad- 
dressed to  the  Marquis  of  (Irimaldi,  under  date  of 
the  7th  of  .January,  1708,  that  the  (Jovernors  of  Ja- 
maica and  of  the  \"iigin    Islands    having  made  fre- 
(juent  complaints  to  the  Court  of  the  liarm  done  to 
the  inhabitants  of  said  islands  on  account  of  the  ad- 
mission and  detention  of  the  fugitive  negroes  from 
their  settlements,  and  which  the  Spanisli  Governors 
of  Cuba  and  Puerto  Kico  tolerated,  and  it  seems  like- 
wise that  they  authorized  the  evil  ;    that  they  had 
the  strictest  orders  fi-oni    the    iving    to    make    the 
strongest    representation    against   such    an    unjust 
practice,  so  contrary  to  the  law  of  nature,  to  the  pri- 
vate property  and    to   the  good   understanding  that 
ought  to  subsist  between  the  two  friendly  nations,, 
asking  that  orders  l)e  given  to  said  Spanish  Govern- 
oi-s,  so  as  to  make  })romi)t  restitution  of  said  slaves 
to  their  c-orresiionding  masters  to   })Ut  an  efficient 
end  to  such   an  unjust   conduct.     That  by  a  state- 
ment presented  (Stand   No.  5)  to  the  Count  of  Shel- 
"burne  on  the  '.>th  of  March,  17(>7,  it  seemed  that  the 


81 

inhabitants  of  Cuba  had  lately  taken  by  force  many 
negroes  from  the  northern  part  of  the  island  of  Ja- 
maica, and  that  many  more  had  run  away  to  Cuba, 
Avhere  not  only  they  had  been  well  received  but  like- 
wise well  concealed,  and  refusing  to  deliver  them  back. 
That  after  Governor  Cletson  had  informed  Count 
Shelburne  of  a  new  desertion  of  a  number  of  slaves, 
and  having  made  his  necessary  representations  to 
Don  Antonio  Bucareli  and  the  Marquis  of  Casa 
Carigal,  Governor  of  Santiago  de  Cuba,  but  all  in 
vain,  as  the  latter  gave  as  his  rei>ly  that  having 
taken  legal  steps  in  the  matter,  he  had  sent  a  state- 
ment to  his  sovereign,  and  had  no  Dower  left  to  do 
anything  in  the  matter  until  he  should  hear  the 
pleasure  of  his  King  and  Lord. 

That  the  chief  inhabitants  of  the  Virgin  Islands 
had  already  sent  their  complaints  of  the  large  losses 
sustained  on  account  of  the  admission  and  detention 
of  their  fugitive  negroes  in  Puerto  Rico. 

7.  That  in  consequence  of  these  repeated  com- 
plaints he  had  received  orders  from  the  King  his 
Lord  to  urge  the  case  in  his  name  before  His  Catho- 
lic Majesty,  in  order  to  obtain,  from  his  known  sense 
of  justice,  the  necessary  orders  to  his  American  Gov- 
ernors to  make  a  prompt  restitution  of  these  fugitives 
to  their  corresponding  masters,  forbidding  them  to 
continue  such  an  irregular  and  unjust  conduct. 

8.  That  it  was  useless  to  show  that  the  trade  in 
negroes  was  authorized  with  the  concurrence  of  all 
the  European  nations,  and  particularly  that  these 
slaves  were  looked  upon  as  private  property,  and 
therefore  the  allowance  of  asylum  to  said  fugitive 
slaves  and  the  refusal  to  return  them  back  home  to 
their  owners,  was  a  conduct  directly  in  opposition  to 
every  sense  of  justice ;  and  that  it  was  absolutely 
necessary  to  jjrovide  a  remedy  for  an  evil  so  inju- 
rious to  private  property  and  to  the  good  under- 
standing subsisting  between  the  two  nations. 

Vol.  II,  Vex.— 6 


82 

9.  Tliat  ti)  this  eml  lu'  took  the  lihcrty  to  i)roj)ose, 
as  the  only  iirojicr  rcnuMly.  llic  (■st:il)lisliiiiciit  of  a 
cartel  I'or  the  mutual  restitution  of  iugitivo  negroes 
from  the  English  to  the  Spanish  Colonies  in  Amer- 
ica, as  it  is  reasonahle,  and  a  measure  well  medi- 
tated ;  and  that  he  had  no  doubt  tiie  Marquis  de 
Grimahli  would  render  his  good  offices  near  his 
Catliolic  Majesty,  in  order  to  secure  the  measure 
proposed  hy  liim. 

10.  Ai'tercUie  consideration  the  General-Treasurer, 
in  his  report  of  the  10th  of  Afarch,  1708,  in  I'eference 
to  the  text  of  tlu'  al)ove  despatch,  c()iitinue(h  saying 
that  by  the  antecedents  obtained  and  added  to  the 
present  case  it  was  shown  that  on  the  29th  of  Jan- 
uary, 17")7,  the  ('ouneil  consulted  Ilis  Majesty,  giv- 
ing an  account  of  what  was  represented  by  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Porto  liico,  concerning  the  arrival  at  those 
coasts  of  ten  negro  slaves  from  the  French  Colony, 
who  had  been  claimed  by  the  General  of  Martinic[ue, 
and  whose  delivery  was  suspended  in  order  to 
oiitain  the  Koyal  determination  on  the  subject; 
that  it  was  decided  to  instruct  the  sai<l  Go^•ernor  of 
Porto  Rico  to  deliver  and  make  restitution  of  the 
said  ten  slaves  to  the  aforementioned  Governor  of 
Martinique,  or  to  whomsoever  would  claim  them, 
under  condition  that  they  were  not  to  sustain  an}' 
corporal  nor  aftiictive  punishment,  and  that  the 
reciprocity  should  be  assured,  as  decided  by  His 
Majesty,  at  the  consultations  of  the  Council  on  var- 
ious occasions,  and  particularly  since  the  year  1703 
up  to  that  of  1749,  when  restitution  was  accorded  to 
the  Frenchman  of  all  the  fugitive  negro  slaves  of 
their  Colonies,  as  well  as  soldier  deserters  appre- 
hended in  that  island,  within  its  jurisdiction  ;  the 
Council  directed  that  in  future  the  same  conduct 
was  to  be  observed  in  similiar  cases  of  fugitive  slaves 
or  French  deserters. 

11.  That  His  Majesty's  Royal  resolution  accepts 


83 

the  advice  of  the  Council  only  in  regard  to  negro 
sla  ves. 

12.  In  another  consultation  of  the  25th  of  Febru- 
arv  following,  in  the  same  year,  tlie  Council  showed 
His  Majesty  the  result  of  a  letter  from  the  Governor 
of  Cuba  and  the  testimony  accompanying  the  same, 
about  the  decision  in  I'egard  to  an  Englishman 
called  Peter  George  who  left  Jamaica  on  account  of 
religion,  with  six  of  his  negro  slaves;  that  it  was  of 
the  opinion,  following  other  instances,  that  he  would 
be  admitted  under  the  Royal  protection,  meaning- 
said  Peter  George,  and  that  he  should,  be  granted 
lands  fixing  his  domicile  for  his  subsistence,  and 
deciding  tl)at  in  regard  to  the  payment  of  dues  on 
slaves,  it  was  only  to  be  applied  to  those  that  he 
might  sell,  but  not  on  account  of  their  entrance,  as 
such  was  a  tree  act,  in  consideration  of  the  religious 
purposes  accomplished,  and  recommending  most 
particularly  to  the  Governor  of  Cuba  that  if  he  be- 
lieved that  the  Englishmen  sincerely  sought  refuge 
in  our  dominion  on  account  of  religion,  he  should 
grant  them  lands  and  designate  their  domicile  as 
far  as  possible  from  the  coast ;  that  this  condition 
ought  to  be  observed  with  the  greatest  care  in  this 
ca>e,  as  the  said  Peter  George's  case  was  open  to 
doubts  as  to  the  good  faith  in  which  he  carried  out 
his  passage;  that  His  Majest}^  accepted  tiie  opinion 
of  the  Council  as  final  in  this  case. 

13.  That  on  the  10th  of  September,  1764,  the 
Council  brought  to  tlie  notice  of  His  ]\Iajesty  a  copy 
of  what  was  represented  by  the  Governor  and  Royal 
Officers  of  Havana  in  regard  to  the  three  French 
negroes  found  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Morro 
Casle,  and  the  final  decision  issued  by  those  Minis- 
t;-rs  on  the  20th  of  July,  1760,  when  the  said  three 
shives  were  confiscated,  and  three  negroes,  as  well  as 
three  wild  negro  boys,  who  were,  accouling  to  evi- 
dence, at  the  house  of  tlie  Ensign,  Don  F'rancisco 


84 

llei'uaiulc'/.  wliu  was  ciijoiiicil  to  present  theiii  on  tlic 
second  day,  ami  in  defanlt  to  pay  their  ]iriee  as  fixed 
b}--  the  reguhitions,  according  to  the  price  allowed  to 
the  Royal  rom])any  tor  tlu^  same,  so  as  to  have  the 
proceeds  ol  all  distrilmted  in  the  custoniaiy  way  ob- 
served ill  similar  cases,  according  to  the  laws  and 
regulations;  and  having  been  represented  r>n  the 
part  of  the  negro  called  Balthasar  that  lie  is  free, 
it  was  decided  to  suspend  the  sale  of  his  person  until 
the  final  (U'eision  of  his  case  be  reached. 

]  1.  That  His  Majesty  was  requested  by  the  Coun- 
cil to  conlirm  the  sentence  and  return  the  proceed- 
ings, so  that  they  be  placed  in  the  condition  in  wliich 
they  were  when  the  request  of  time  for  the  delivery 
of  the  six  negroes  was  made,  and  empowering  the 
Governor  and  Royal  Officers  to  proceed  and  try  the 
case  according  to  law,  with  directions  that  the  other 
negro  called  IJalthasar  be  thoroughly  investigated, 
so  as  to  find  out  whether  he  I'eally  was  free  as  he 
pretends.  His  Majesty  ado})ted  this  advice  as  final 
as  the  result  of  the  consultation  submitted. 

lo.  Tliat  in  regard  to  the  other  case  of  the  23d  of 
December,  17(35,  the  (Jouncil  showed  to  His  Majesty 
what  was  represented  by  the  Hitendente  of  Havana, 
Don  Miguel  de  Altaniva,  requesting  a  suitable  de- 
cision as  to  whether  certain  negroes  acquired  before- 
hand were  to  be  considered  as  duly  acquired,  as  at 
the  time  of  tli(»  restitution  of  that  i)lace  there  was  no 
l»roper  evidence  of  their  apprehension  and  owner- 
ship, and  what  charges  or  dues  were  to  be  collected. 
On  this  ])articular  point,  it  was  the  oj)iiiion  of  the 
Council  that  said  Intendeiile  ought  to  be  iXMpiested 
to  forward  the  full  copy  ot  the  pi-oceedings  carried 
out  on  the  subject,  and  a  correct  re])ort  of  the  ])er- 
sons  who  purchased  the  negroes  ti'om  the  faiglish- 
men  during  the  war,  and  of  those  who,  through  vio- 
lence, persuasion,  or  robbery  introduced  them  ;  as 
the  disposition  of  one  and  the  other  case  must  be 
dillerent.  His  Majesty  api)roved  the  opinion  of  the 


85 

Council  and  the  corresponding  cediiles  were  issued, 
but  it  was  not  ascertained  whether  they  had  been 
carried  into  effect  or  not. 

16.  That  by  another  consultation  of  the  30th  of 
September,  1766,  the  Council  showed  to  His  Majesty 
that  the  representation  from  the  Governor  of  Santi- 
ago de  Cuba,  with  a  copy  of  the  proceedings,  about 
the  landing  of  ten  negroes  introduced  at  the  port  of 
Baracoa  by  Alexander  Johnson,  a  native  of  Eng- 
land ;  that  it  was  discovered  that  those  negroes  were 
slaves  of  several  residents  of  Guarico  who  had  run 
away  under  the  influence  and  persuasion  or  robbery 
of  said  Alexander  Johnson  ;  that  the  Council  under- 
stood that  there  was  no  reason  whatever  to  consider 
them  as  a  lawful  prize,  by  confiscation  or  reprisal, 
nor  to  act  in  any  way  detrimental  to  the  right  of  the 
owners,  on  account  of  their  landing  within  the  coasts 
of  His  Majesty's  dominions;  and  that  it  was  advisa- 
ble to  direct  the  Governor  of  Cuba  to  send  notice  to 
Guarico,  so  that  the  owners  might  recover  them 
lawfully,  paying  the  expenses  incurred,  or  if  sold,  to 
recover  the  price  after  deducting  the  Royal  dues  ;  that 
it  was  proper  to  serve  notice  of  the  case  with  the  cor- 
responding copies  and  the  final  decision  to  the 
Ambassador  of  France ;  and  that  His  Majesty  ac- 
cepted the  report  of  the  Council  in  response  to  the 
above  consultation. 

17.  That  the  Council,  in  consideration  of  what 
was  represented  by  Don  Miguel  de  Altaniva,  and  of 
tlie  documents  accompanied  by  the  same,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  case  of  a  negro  obtained  by  Don  Fran- 
cisco de  Chaves,  while  the  English  were  in  pos- 
session of  the  City  of  Havana,  decided  by  an  act  of 
the  6th  of  March,  1768,  to  include  said  negro  as  pro- 
tected by  the  amnesty  of  His  Majesty  and  in  the  en- 
joyment of  his  freedom  as  he  claimed,  and  approv- 
ing the  decision  of  the  Intendente,  reserving  Chaves 
his  rights  on  the  subject  against  any  other  party. 

18.  That  this  decision  of  the  Council  had  been 


80 

(lictateil  after  tiiKliiii^-  a  sulliciciit  evidoiu'c  that  tlie 
lU'uro  was  within  the  inoaniii>(  of  tlie  Royal  order  of 
the  17th  of  April,  17G4,  deelaring  free  all  the  negroes 
imprisoned  by  the  English  during  the  siege  of 
Havana,  and.  alter  the  surrender  of  said  city,  had 
deserted,  in  order  to  embrace  the  Catholic  religion, 
consideriiiu  them  nil  free,  notwithstanding  their 
doubtf'nl  intent i(in. 

19.  That  in  view  of  everything  heretofore  stated 
in  connection  Avith  the  contents  of  the  despatch 
from  the  Ambassador  of  England,  and  the  antece- 
dents gathered  on  the  subject,  the  General  Accomp- 
tant  found  them  all  ap})lie(j  to  particular  cases 
differing  from  each  otliei-,  and  decided,  according 
to  the  circumstances  of  the  time,  they  were  not  suth- 
cient  to  justifv  as.sent  to  a  recjuest  so  general  as  the 
one  intended  by  the  Ambassador  of  England. 

■JO.  That  sinee  the  e.stnhlishnient  of  the  English, 
Erench,  I)utcli.  and  Danes  in  the  Colonies  they 
{)ossess  in  America,  fugitive  negroes  had  kept  com- 
ing:; to  the  islands  and  dominions  ot  His  Majesty, 
some  of  them  to  escape  ill  treatment  and  others  to 
embrace  our  Catholic  religion  ;  that  on  every  occa- 
sion they  had  been  well  received  by  the  inhabitants 
and  Spanish  Governors,  convinced  as  they  were, 
that  l)y  showing  kindness  to  these  peo})le  their  own 
people  derived  the  benefit  of  their  -cultivation  of 
the  l.uid,  besides  finding  the  protection  of  a  good 
and  <  Mtholic  sovereign. 

■Jl.  That  tlie  foreigners  had  always  set  their 
claims  against  this  practice,  and  that  the  interfer- 
ence of  the  Andjassadors  ami  .Ministers  of  foreign 
countries,  in  order  to  abolisli  it.  had  been  repeatedly 
tried  in  order  to  oliiain  the  restitution  of  their  slaves 
and  prevent  their  concealment ,  within  the  posses- 
sions of  His  Majesty;  that  although  now  and  tlien 
orders  had  been  issued  in  several  instances  accord- 
ing to   circumstances,  publicly  directing   the  (iover- 


87 

nor  to  comply  with  such  requests,  the  actucal  deUvery 
or  compliance  with  them  had  never  been  consented, 
nor  an  asylum  refused,  and  much  less  the  assent  to 
assent  to  any  treaty  or  convention  allowing  any 
absolute  restitution. 

22.  That  this  conduct  of  the  wise  Ministers  of  His 
Majesty  had  been  founded  on  sound  political  prin- 
ciples of  necessary  preservation  of  their  dominions, 
and.  that  the  accjuisecence  and.  tolerance  of  the  for- 
eign powers  had  strengthened  and  qualified  their 
policy  as  opportune  and  legitimate,  and.  deriving 
still  more  force  from  the  fact  of  never  having  been 
derogated  by  any  of  the  several  general  or  special 
treaties  of  peace  iieretofore  concluded  snice  the  con- 
quest of  the  Indies. 

23.  That  the  laws  of  the  Kingdom,  Royal  orders, 
and  fundamental  constitutions  of  the  Government 
forbid  the  commerce  and  trade  of  the  subjects  of 
Her  Majesty  with  foreigners  under  severe  penalties, 
as  well  as  the  admittance  of  their  vessels  in  any  of 
the  ports,  rivers  or  roadsteads. 

24.  That  the  powers  who  had  colonies  in  those 
parts,  were  aware  of  these  rules  and  had  respected 
them ;  so  that  by  the  article  eight  of  the  treaty 
of  Utrecht,  with  their  concurrence,  it  was  stipu- 
lated that  no  change  was  to  be  made  in  the  form 
and  manner  established  for  the  commerce  of  the 
Spanish  Indies.  That  this  treaty  had  been  rati- 
fied b}^  those  which  followed  it,  and  that  every 
one  of  the  contracting  nations  were  interested  in 
avoiding  any  alteration  or  contravention  of  their 
tenor,  and  that  if  the  request  of  the  Ambassador  of 
England  were  allowed,  the  other  powers  might 
complain,  as  nothing  could  be  granted  to  said 
powers  without  being  allowed  likewise  to  France, 

25.  That  the  cartel  proposed  ibr  the  reciprocal 
restitution  of  the  negro  slaves,  would  be  equivalent 
to  the  granting  of  a  general  commerce  between  the 


88 

islands  and  dominion  of  His  Majesty,  and  the  Col- 
onies of  the  King  of  England,  under  the  assumed 
pretext  of  claiming  the  return  of  the  slaves,  coming 
to  all  our  ports,  and  the  Spaniards  going  to  their 
places  with  silver,  gold,  goods,  and  produce,  and 
establishing  an  illicit  commerce,  enriching  the  J'^ng- 
lishmcn  and  ruining  infallibly  the  Royal  Treasury 
and  the  subjects  of  His  jNFajesty,  besides  other  evils 
and  diflicuhies  which  can  l)e  very  easily  ascer- 
tained. 

20.  That  taking  all  these  considerations  into  ac- 
count, and  those  that  may  occur  to  the  welhknown 
zeal,  accuracy,  and  wisdom  of  the  Council,  the 
Accomptant  General  conceived  that  the  present 
subject  deserves  every  consideration,  and  the  closest 
examination  in  view  of  the  many  antecedents 
held,  and  the  more  recent  one  ])ending  now  before 
tliis  Tribuiuil,  upon  the  convention  entered  into 
with  the  Court  of  Denmarkj  just  submitted  to  the 
Council,  and  that  it  could  likewise  be  examined 
at  the  same  time,  and  His  Majest}"  consulted  upon 
his  pleasure  on  both  subjects. 
LeUerD.  27.  Aud  noticing  that  in  the  meantime  the  Attor- 

Lettcr  E.      nevs  answered  to  the  case  of  a  claim  inlroducetl  l)y 
No.  1.  France  about  the  restitution  of  negroes,  they  were 

Folios.  of  the  opinion  in  their  report  of  the  21st  of  April, 
1708,  that  nothing  ought  to  be  mentioned  of  the 
nuittei'  ot  the  Ambassador  of  England,  nor  the  con- 
vention entered  into  with  Denmark,  as  it  might 
prove  unwise  to  dwell  on  a  (juestion  that  could  be 
of  no  advantage  under  tiie  circumstances. 
LeucrF.  ^8.  It  was  submitted,  likewise,  to  the  attorneys  on 

No.  2.  their  request  and  in  obedience  to  the  Council's  direc- 

tions a  copy  of  the  convention  of  his  Majesty  and 
the  King  of  Denmark,  about  the  reciprocal  restitu- 
tion of  deserters  and  slaves  between  the  Island  of 
Porto  Rico,  Saint  Cross,  Saint  Thomas,  and  Saint 
John,  which  was  sent  to  the   Council  by  tlie  baihff^ 


89 

tit  the  request  of  his  Majesty,  with  a  letter  dated  on 
the   26th   of  February,  1768,  and   in  their  answer,    foUoo. 
after  due   notice  of  the  convention  and  of  the  des- 
patch from  the  Ambassador  of  Engdand  they  showed 
tbat  they  considered  strange  the  phrases  somewhat 
indecorous,  not  proper  or  respectful,  of  the  Ambas- 
sador of  England  in  addressing  his  Majesty,  showing 
a  spirit  easily  to  be  understood  in  appearance,  rather 
than   his  propositions,  which  were  not  admissible, 
•on  account  of  the  difficulties  and  injury  which  might    foUo  22. 
follow  the  cartels  or  public  edicts  that  the  English 
wauted  for  the  recovery  of  their  fugitive  slaves,  as 
-such  a  practice  was  op[)Osed  to  the  |)olicy  and  fun- 
■datiiental  rules  of  tlie  government  in  America  and 
■detrimental  to  its  subjects  and  to  the  Royal  Treas- 
ury ;  that  it  ought  to  be  limited  to  the  restitution  of 
those  fugitives  taken  away  by  the  Si)aniards  from 
their  Island  or  Colonies  by  means  of  violence,  per- 
suasion, or  seduction  in  time  of  peace,  as  it  had  been 
the    case    in   Jamaica,  that   such   a  fair  claim  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the   claim  of  fugitive  slaves  in 
general.     Upon  this   particular  his    Majesty  might 
answer  to  the  Ambassador  that  nothing  had  been 
heard  of  the  answers  given    on  this  subject  by  the 
•Governor  of  Cuba,  who  said   he  had  forwarded  the 
same  to  his  Majesty,  and  that  if  it  was  true  as  repre- 
sented, his  Majesty  should  grant  a  fair  trial  and  an 
indemnification  to  the  interested  parties,  punishing    Foiio42. 
the    delinquents ;  that  the    convention  which   His 
Majesty  had  kindly  entered  into  with  the  Danes,  for 
motives  which    were   not   to   be   investigated,  had 
caused,  beyond  any  c|uestion,  an  irreparable  injury 
to  every  one  of   the    islands   and   to   the  subjects 
of  his  Majesty  in  America,  opening  doors  to  strangers 
and  to  all  those  established  in  those  countries,  out  of 
tolerance  or  condescension  imposed  on  the  Grown 
or  for  any  other  reason  far  from  fairly  claiming  the 
restitution    of  their  fugitive  slaves,  making  every 


90 

(lay  iiKii'c  and  more  iini)().ssil)k'  the  acciui.sitioii  of 
those  upcratives,  so  lU'ccssary  for  the  cultivation  and 
ini{)roverncnl  of  the  cro|)s,  tlie  cliict'  incentive  ot  the 
Folios.  n('i:;otiation  and  subsistence,  and  that  said  conven- 
tion ouii,ht  not  to  1)6  enforced. 
Letter  E.  -JO.  And   having  reported  everything  to  the  Couii- 

Foiio  1.  j,j|^  ry^  decree  was  issued  on  the  ISth  of  April,  1768, 
consulting  His  Majesty,  and  stating  that  the  despatch 
of  the  Ambassador  of  England  was  to  be  forwarded 
to  the  Treasurer,  and  that  with  his  report  the  two 
Attorneys  were  to  be  consulted  ;  that  l^efore  they 
took  any  action  tiicv  ap})lic(l  for  the  convention, 
with  the  King  of  Denmark,  and  that  having  been 
submitted  to  said  Attorney,  and  in  consequence 
they  had  represented  to  the  Council  that  it  would 
be  expressed,  in  answer  to  the  consultation,  that  the 
Council  had  assented  to  their  opinion  for  the  reasons 
explained  in  the  same  ;  and  in  consequence,  under 
the  date  of  May  the  i»th,  ITbS,  his  Majesty  was  con- 
sulted, and  all  the  reasons  extensively  given  by  the 
Council  to  refuse  the  request  of  the  British  Ambassa- 
dor and  not  to  cany  out  the  convention  with  Den- 
mark upon  which  there  was  a  consultation  jxMiding 
before  His  ^fajesty. 

I*r<)c«'e<liii5;s  ol"  t  li<'  Day. 

Letter  H.  ^>*'-  All  the  al)ove  cascs  referred   to   and  their  an- 

tecedents still  pemling,  about  the  proceedings  in 
regard  to  the  claim  of  the  Minister  of  IFolland,  now 
before  his  Majesty,  eoinplnining  of  the  conduct  of  the 
Spaniards  established  on  the  Orinoco  river  against 
the  Esquivo  Dutch  Colony,  were  forwarded  and  sub- 
mitted to  the  Council  by  Royal  Order  of  the  10th 
of  September,  1709,  in  order  to  he  examined  and  to 
consult  His  Majesty  in  regard  to  the  extension  of 
those  boundaries  and  the  alleged  rights  of  the 
liepublic  to  fish  at  the  entrance  of  the  Orinoco- 
river. 


91 

31.  Said    claim  by  act  of  the    Council,  dated  on    At  mar 
the  12th  instant,  was  sent  to  the  translator,  so  as  to 
be  forwarded  wdth  his  translation   to  the  Attorney, 
with  all  the  antecedents  of  the  subject. 

The  translation  shows  that  the  claim  is  taken 
from  the  book  of  Resolutions  of  the  High  Powders  of 
the  States-General  of  the  United  Provinces  bearing 
the  Idate  of  August  2d,  1769,  the  literal  version  of 
which  is  as  follows  : 

{Translation.) 

•  32.  It  has  been  read  before  the  Assembly  the 
representation  of  the  Deputies  of  His  Most  Serene 
Highness  the  Lord  Prince  of  Orange  and  Nassau 
and  Directors  of  the  allowed  Company  of  the  West 
Indies  of  the  Presidial  Chamber  of  Zeland  that 
this  general  Company,  having  the  particular  direc- 
tion of  the  Esquivo  Colony  and  the  rivers  dependent 
from  the  same,  that  in  this  case  the  petitioners  had 
always  considered,  for  a  quasi  immemorial  time,  in 
possession  not  only  of  the  Esquivo  river  but  of 
many  other  rivers  and  rivulets  disemboguing  into 
the  sea  along  that  part,  as  w^ell  as  all  the  branches 
of  rivers  and  rivulets  emptying  into  the  Esquivo,. 
particularly  the  northern  branch  called  Cayoeny ; 
that  for  an  immemorial  time  the  bank  of  the 
Cayoeny  river  has  been  considered  as  dominion  of 
the  State,  and  that  the  wooden  barrack  or  post  with 
a  guard  had  been  kept  there,  besides  many  others 
of  this  Colony,  on  behalf  of  the  company,  fur- 
nished with  a  vessel  and  a  few  slaves  and  Indians. 
33.  That  the  petitioners,  under  such  an  under- 
standing, and  after  what  had  taken  place  in  the 
year  1759,  where  astonished  at  the  receipt  of  the 
new^s  conveyed  by  a  letter  from  Lorenzo  Horender 
Granvesand,  General  Director  of  Esquivo,  written 
under  date  of  the  9th  of  last  February,  stating  that 
a  Spanish  detachment  from  the   Orinoco  had  ad- 


02 

vaiiced  to  that  Post  and  seized  several  Indians, 
tlireateninu'  with  their  icturn.  (Hi  the  next  tide,  to 
visit  another  rancdi  of  the  Esquivo  I'iver,  called  Mas- 
eroeny,  situated  hetweeii  this  one  and  the  river 
Cayoeny,  which,  without  any  dispute,  is  a  pai't  of  tlie 
territory  of  the  rej)ublie,  and  to  visit  likewise  and 
seize  a  party  of  Caribs,  an  Indian  tribe  allied  to  the 
Hollanders,  and  in  some  sort  belonging  to  them, 
and  then  to  go  down  the  Maseroeny  river,  returning 
and  going  up  the  Cayoeny  and  visiting  there  the 
said  Barrack  of  the  Company;  that  the  pleni])oten- 
tiaries  could  see  by  a  letter,  niai'ked  letter  A,  what 
has  been  stated,  a  copy  of  which  is  annexed  tt)  this 
petition;  that  the  same  contains  likewise  a  state- 
ment of  the  steps  taken  l)y  the  Director  General,  so 
as  to  prevent  it;  that  the  ])etitioners  had  considered 
these  threats  as  unmeaning,  as  many  others  made 
before,  and  notwithstanding  said  I  >irector  General 
liad  informed  them  by  liis  letter  of  the  21st  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1769,  a  copy  of  which  goes  herewith,  marked 
with  the  letter  B;  that  the  Spaniards  had  built  two 
houses  gaai'ded  l)y  many  trooj)S,  one  of  which  was 
very  near  the  Company's  Barrack  on  the  Cayoeny 
river,  but  apparently  within  their  own  territory,  and 
the  other  farther  and  high  up  on  the  margin  of  a 
rivulet  disemboguing  in  this  same  river  ;  tiiat  ni  case 
of  an  attack  from  that  quarter  by  the  Spaniards,  in 
time  of  peace,  it  was  very  likely  to  come  from  that 
quarter;  that  the  Director  General  had  sent  a  letter 
on  the  3d  of  last  March,  a  copy  of  which  is  accom- 
panied and  marked  with  the  letter  C,  about  said 
representation;  that  tlie  petitioner  h;id  been  with 
astonishment  made  acquainted  with  the  contents  of 
a  letter  which  the  Director  General  had  addressed 
to  his  son-indaw,  tiie  Commander  of  Demerari,  the 
original  of  which  was  forwarded  and  a  copy  of 
which,  marked  letter  I),  reported  the  Spaniards 
having  .seized  the  Indians  of  Maroco  and  the  port  of 


93 

the  Company  situated  near  a  rivulet,  at  the  east  of 
the  Weyne  river,  between  this  one  and  the  Possaron 
(Pumaron?),  where  the  Company  had  likewise  held 
for  time  immemorial  a  commercial  place,  said  place 
under  the  dependency,  without  contradiction,  of  the 
territory  of  the  Republic. 

84.  That  the  petitioners  had  received  the  confir- 
mation of  that  news  by  the  arrival  of  a  triplicate  of 
a  letter  from  the  Director  General,  under  date  of  the 
15th  of  March  last,  the  original  of  which  had  been 
forwarded  by  way  of  the  Island  ot  Barbado,  and  the 
duplicate  by  the  way  of  Surinam,  and  had  not  yet 
arrived;  a  triplicate  in  copy  is  produced,  marked 
letter  C,  in  which  the  j^lenipotentiaries  might  find 
the  particulars  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Spaniards 
and  the  conduct  of  the  guard  around  of  the  measures 
taken  by  the  Director  General  provisionally,  and  that 
every  statement  had  been  confirmed,  as  shown  more 
particularly  by  the  annexed  copy,  marked  letters  F 
and  G,  one  of  which  was  a  copy  of  the  testimony  of 
the  statement  of  the  Governor  of  the  Guard  who 
kept  the  Maroco's  Barrack  sent  to  the  Director  Gen- 
eral on  the  7th  of  last  ^larch,  and  the  other  was  a 
copy  of  a  paper  in  writing  given  by  the  Capuchin 
Fathers  who  came  along  with  this  expedition  to  the 
Guard  of  the  Barrack,  in  the  Spanish  language,  and 
had  not  been  translated  for  want  of  an  opportunity  ; 
said  document  His  Most  Serene  Highness,  the  Lord 
Prince  of  Orange  and  Nassau,  had  kindly  commu- 
nicated to  the  petitioners,  who,  having  seen  that 
they  had  apparently  been  forwarded  along  with  the 
original  and  duplicate  of  the  same,  found  no  reason 
why  they  had  not  received  the  latter. 

35.  That  the  petitioners  had  ascertained  likewise, 
through  this  same  triplicate,  that  the  Spaniards  of 
the  Orinoco  river  had  killed  or  caused  the  death  of 
one  who  was  their  subject,  the  man  on  duty  at  the 
Arinda  Barrack  belonging  to  the  Com[)any  and  sit- 


94 

uated  at  tlif  cast  of  tlir  lO^iniivo  Ilivn-,  ami  all  the 
Caribs  that  u'eiv  toiiud  ncai'  it,  ami  that  the  Chief 
of  the  Carihs,  on  that  accouut,  had  appeared  before 
the  Director  General  and  obtained  his  })ermission  to 
take  reveni^e  for  the  deaths  of  his  compatriots  and 
to  attack  their  luurdciTrs,  as  niay  be  seen  by  the 
annexed  cojiy,  marked  letter  II,  a  second  coi\v  of  the 
same  letter  on  the  same  subject  from  the  Director, 
dated  on  the  l."')tJi  df  last  March.  'Fhat  although  the 
{)etitioners  had  received  at  the  same  time  the  above- 
mentioned  triplicate  of  the  letter  of  said  month  of 
March,  on  the  loili,  a  letter  from  the  Director  Gen- 
eral of  the  4th  of  A))ril  last  made  no  mention  of  any 
subsequent  enterprise  on  the  part  of  the  Spaniards, 
and  contained  only  a  statement  of  all  the  steps  taken 
in  order  to  oppose  similar  enterprises;  the  ])etition- 
ers,  however,  thought  it  was  their  duty  not  to  silence 
tills  particular  detail,  and  rather  l)ring  it  to  the 
notice  of  tiic  plcni])i)tcutiarics  with  every  ])Ossible 
s})ccification,  entertaining  no  doubt  that  those  high- 
handed attempts  should  be  resented  and  the  most 
•efficient  representation  made,  on  account  of  tluB 
manifest  violations  of  the  territory  of  the  State. 

36.  That  the  petitioners  can  not  avoid  stating  to 
the  plenii3otentiaries  on  this  occasion  that  the  Ori- 
noco parties  had  not  only  commenced  to  dispute,  for 
some  time  i)ast.  the  right  of  those  from  Esquivo  to 
fish  at  the  Miouth  of  the  Orinoco,  but  had,  i)esides. 
ell'cctually  stoppc<!  it,  notwithstanding  that  the 
Esquivo  })arties  had  been  for  a  long  time  in  ])acific 
])Ossession  of  the  right  of  fisiiing,  from  which  they 
derived  a  great  benefit,  on  account  of  the  al)und- 
ance  of  fish  found  there;  said  Orinoco  parties  had 
■commenced  to  sto[)  by  force  the  fishing  on  the  ten'i- 
tory  of  the  same  state,  a  territory  extending  from 
the  river  Maresigue  up  to  the  other  side  of  the 
Weyne,  very  near  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  as  may 
be  seen  by  the  geographical  chart  of  those  countries, 
and  particularly  by  that  of  Anville,  one  of  the  most 


95 

esteemed  on  account  of  its  accurac}',  ami  that  tlie 
pleni[)otentiaries  will  find  tlie  proois  of  these  injuries 
in  tlie  document  marked  letter  Y;  the  articles  one, 
two,  and  three  are  copies  of  letters  from  said  Director 
General,  dated  September  the  15th,  1768,  and  Febru- 
ary the  21st  and  April  the  4th,  1769  ;  that  the  ])etition- 
ers  could  not  fail  to  bring  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
plenipotentiaries  the  conduct,  not  only  contrary  to 
all  the  treaties,  but  to  tlie  law  of  nations  likewise, 
on  the  part  of  those  parties  !'roni  the  Orinoco  l:)y  re- 
taining and  inducing  the  slaves  deserted  from  the 
Colony  to  run  away  towards  the  Spaniards,  to  the 
great  injury  of  the  planters  and  of  the  whole  Colony  ; 
that  notwithstanding  the  formal  demand  of  the  own- 
ers, and  the  most  efficient  steps  taken  and  deputa- 
tions sent,  everything  had  proved  useless  ;  that  con- 
sidering the  present  desertion,  in  case  of  not  being 
stopped,  it  may  bring  about  the  total  ruin  of  Esquivo, 
ami  that  the  Spaniards  had  favored  and  facilitated 
this  state  of  things,  respecting  the  two  houses  men- 
tioned before  so  very  near  the  territory  of  the  Re- 
public, attacking  the  barracks  of  the  company  and 
killing  the  men  on  guard,  as  the  plenipotentiaries 
will  find  out  by  the  two  annexed  copies,  marked 
with  the  letters  Y  C,  in  articles  first  and  second,  and 
the  other  with  the  letters  P  D,  whicli  are  the  copies 
of  the  above-mentioned  letters  of  the  Director  Gene- 
ral, dated  on  the  9tli  and  21st  of  February  and  the 
3d  of  March  ultimo.  The  petitioners  crave  that  in 
consideration  of  the  injury  necessarily  involved  in 
this  conduct  and  its  progress,  the  plenipotentiaries 
send,  on  the  ground  of  the  one  made  before  on  the 
31st  of  July,  1759,  a  copy  of  this  representation  and 
annexes  to  the  Envoy  Extraordinary,  Mr.  Doublet  de 
Groenevelt,  representing  the  i)lenipotentiaries  before 
His  Catholic  Majesty,  instructing  said  Minister  to 
make  the  necessary  representations  before  the  Span- 
ish court. 

37.  And  afi.er  mature  deliberation  on  the  subject. 


OG 

it  wa^  I'omiil  lit,  ami  it  was  ilccidcil,  (hat  a  copy  of 
the  ahove  representations,  with  the  (hiciiiiH'iit  an- 
nexed tVoMi  Mr.  Douhltt  (If  (Jroencvelt,  Envoy 
Extraordinary  of  the  rimipntentiai-y  of  the  Court 
of  Spain  be  forwarded,  and  an  acc<»nnt  of  the  par- 
ticulars and  otlcuces  com{)lained  of  be  given  by 
those  implicated  in  the  same,  so  as  to  provide  for  a 
prompt  remedy  against  the  hostilities  committed 
and  the  reinstatement  of  those  persons  who  were  re- 
moved irom  the  said  Jiarracks,  and  extending  like- 
wise to  the  subject  of  the  fisheries  in  those  places, 
and  recoinnnaiding  to  take  evi'ry  [)r(M'antion  neces- 
sary to  ])reYent  further  cause  for  similar  comjdaints 
in  the  future,  and  that  the  Court  of  Spain  issue  the 
necessary  orders  for  the  return  at  the  lirst  request, 
avoiding  injury  and  expenses  on  account  of  all 
fugitive  slaves  found  yet  in  the  handsof  theSpaiiiards 
or  that  may  desert  in  futnrc,  in  wliich  case  the 
plenipotentiaries  will  issue  the  like  ordeis  to  their 
Esc|uivo  Colony. 

38.  A  coi)y  of  this  resolution  nf  the  plenipotentia- 
ries will  be  addressed  to  the  Marcpiis  of  j'ucnte- 
Fuerte,  Envoy  Extraordinary  of  His  Catholic  Maj- 
esty, jtraying  his  support,  as  far  as  jjossibie,  l>y  his 
good  offices  on  behalf  ol  these  claims  of  the  plenipo- 
tentiaries. 

30.  And  the  Attorney,  in  view  of  the  answer  of 
Xo. 5.  the  17th  of  September  of  said  year  1769,  suggested 

that  in  order  to  forward  these  proceedings,  on  ac- 
count of  the  despatch  from  the  Ambassador  from 
Holland,  alleging  the  right  of  lisliing  in  the  ( )i-in<ico 
river  (u{)on  which  llis  Majesty  had  directed  to  l>e 
V,,  I.  consulteil),  he  missed    the  Ibllowing  documents:  a 

K,,i  I.  memorial    and    statement   to    whi(di    Ca]»tain    Don 

Isidro  Andrade  referred  in  another  printeil  j»aper, 
which  with  the  lloyal  order  of  the  3d  of  tSepteml)er, 
1740,  was  sent  by  the  Council  and  had  been  exhibited, 
advising  of  his  having  stopped  the  Caribs  in  their 
insults   comniitte<l    and    in<hiced    by    foreign    help. 


97 

The  four  letters  that  liad  been  received  in  the 
years  1757  and  1758,  written  at  the  town  of  Cabruta 
by  the  Cliief  of  Squadrons,  Don  Joseph  Iturriaga, 
sent  with  the  expedition  of  boundaries  to  the  Ori- 
noco river,  one,  in  which  a  description  was  made  of 
the  rivers  entering  said  Orinoco  river,  and  in  refer- 
ence to  the  state  of  those  Missions  and  their  neigh- 
bor! lood,  towns,  inhabitants,  etc.  ;  another,  in  wlricli 
in  virtue  of  one  of  tlie  chapters  of  reserved  instruc- 
tions given  to  the  same  by  Don  Josef  Carvajal,  lie 
deal-  with  the  subsistence  or  demolition  of  the 
Castle  of  Araya ;  another  letter  in  which  he  reports 
to  have  been  informed  that  the  Hollanders  were 
building  a  fortress  on  the  Maruca  (Moroco)  river, 
at  a  short  distance  from  the  mouth  of  Navios  of  the 
Orinoco,  and  that  he  had  decided  to  send  a  launch 
to  ascertain  the  conditions  of  the  structure,  its  capac- 
ity, its  artiller}',  etc.,  concluding  with  an  exposition 
of  the  very  serious  inconvenience  that  might  origi- 
nate from  their  being  allowed  to  build  the  same,  in 
the  already  mentioned  site  of  Maruca  ;  and  another 
letter  in  which  tlie  said  Iturriaga  continued  the  sub- 
ject of  liis  previous  letter  on  the  affair  of  the  preten- 
sions of  the  Esquivo  Hollanders  to  the  Orinoco  river 
publishing  that  tiieir  dominions  extended  as  far  as 
the  mouth  of  Navios  or  large  moutli  of  the  said 
Orinoco  river  where  they  entered  to  fish.  The  re- 
port made  in  the  year  17(32  by  the  Captain  of  the 
Navv,  Don  Josef  Solano  (to  whom  said  letters  were 
sent  for  the  purpose),  and  who,  on  the  subject  of  the 
context  of  the  third  and  fourth  letters,  in  regard  to 
the  preten?<ions  of  the  Hollanders  on  the  Esquivo, 
stated  that  they  had  no  other  foundation  than  the 
omission  and  neglect  of  the  Commanders  of  Guay- 
ana,  who  had  let  them  fish  at  the  mouth  of  Navios, 
and  the  rivers  Barima  and  Aguirre;  and  he  refers 
to  the  answers  that  the  Most  Christian  King  gave 
and  the  steps  taken  by  that  Court,  on  account  of 
having  submitted  to  the  Royal  consideration  of  the 

VuL.   II,  Ven. — 7 


98 

King,  riiiliji  lilt'  ."til.  l)y  way  of  consultation  at  the 
Council  of  the  0th  of  Sei)teinljer,  1705,  the  news 
received  from  the  Governor  of  Cuinana,  Don  Josef 
Ramirez  de  Arelhino,  u[)on  the  commerce  of  the 
Guarapiclie  river  Ity  the  French  fioiu  Martinic[ue, 
not  only  in  timher,  haniinocks,  and  hii-ds,  but  also 
in  Indian  slaves  from  the  same  river  and  coasts  from 
the  mainland,  considering  those  lamls  as  l»arren  and 
out  of  the  dominion  of  anybody,  not  being  i)o})ulatcd 
by  Sjianiards,  and  considering  the  Indians  as  savages. 
The  ('ouiH'il  was  of  opinion  tlial  des|iatclies  should 
be  sent  to  that  sovereign,  in  order  to  strictly  forbid 
the  introduction  of  his  vassals  into  Guar-apiche,  and 
His  Majesty  resolved  that  the  Aml)assador  from  his 
grandfather,  the  King,  was  charged  with  biinging 
him  an  account  of  those  reports,  and  transmit  to  His 
Majesty  the  orders  issued  in  France  on  this  subject. 
He  was  of  opinion  that  the  Council  should  consult 
His  Majesty  and  thrcmgh  the  l)e})artment  of  .State, 
where  those  documents  ought  to  be  found,  contain- 
ing the  above  results,  to  have  them  forwai'ded  to 
those  Kingdoms  and  to  the  Council  with  all  the 
facts,  concerning  this  subject,  in  con.sequence  of  the 
resolutions  of  His  Majesty  in  regard  to  the  above 
consultation  dated  on  the  0th  of  September,  1703,  so 
that  the  Council  taking  every  thing  into  considera- 
tion may  be  enabled  to  report  with  a  full  knowledge 
of  the  case  upon  this  serious  matter,  and  this  Tri- 
bunal to  submit  said  rei)ort  to  the  Royal  considera- 
tion. 

40.  By  Ids  decree  of  the  loth  of  the  same  month 
tiie  bac'L ^"  ^^  September,  1709,  in  accordarice  with  the  o{)inion 
of  the  attorney,  it  was  decided  to  consult  His  Ma- 
jesty (as  it  was  done  on  the  27th  of  said  month  and 
year),  about  the  address  of  all  the  al)ove  nu'ntioned 
documents. 
Letter  M.  41.  In  couscquence  of  the  Royal  order  of  Sei)teni- 
ber  22.  1770,  the  Si'cretarv  sent  to  the   Council   the 


99 

documents  found  in  his  Department  and  called  for  by 
the  index  accompanying  the  same,  and  announced 
his  having  applied  b}'  letter  to  the  Department  of 
State  for  those  missing  and  not  found  with  the  rest. 
He  likewise  furnished  the  news  received  (and  re- 
quested from  him),  to  the  Commander  of  Guayana 
and  the  Governor  of  Cumana,  with  a  representation 
of  the  Prefect  of  the  Catalan  Capuchins  of  the  Mis- 
sions, so  that  in  consideration  of  the  whole  subject 
the  Council  might  consult  His  Majesty  and  hear  his 
pleasure,  returning  meantime  the  documents  con- 
tained in  the  said  index  from  Nos.  1  to  5,  as  well  as 
the  plan  of  the  Province  of  Guayana  contained  in 
No.  t). 

42.  And  noiicing  that  the  same  Bailiff,  with  the 
Royal  order  of  September  6, 1770,  advised  the  Coun- 
cil that  he  had  not  found  in  the  Department  of  State 
the  documents  which,  among  others,  had  been  asked 
by  the  Council  in  consultation  of  the  27th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1769,  so  that  with  this  notice  the  examina- 
tion of'  the  proceedings  might  continue,  said  Royal 
order  was  ordered  to  be  annexed,  and  the  docu-  xo 
meiits  received  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Indies  fol- 
lowed in  the  same  order  in  which  the}"  are  indexed. 
The  contents  of  the  No  1  of  said  index'  is  a  letter  by 
Don  Josef  Iturriaga,  (hited  on  the  12th  of  June,  1757, 
from  Cabruta  on  the  Orinoco,  about  tlie  description 
he  accompanies  of  the  Apure  river  and  the  Missions 
of  Barinas.  From  the  same  it  is  found  that  said 
river  has  four  principal  mouths;  the  first,  going  up 
tlie  Orinoco  river,  comes  out  at  Cabruta  and  is 
called  "  El  Guarico ;  "  the  second  and  principal  one 
is  called  Apure  at  three  leagues'  distance  from  Ca- 
bruta ;  the  third,  called  Orochuna,  at  a  distance  of 
tliri'c  leagues  and  a  lialf  from  the  main  one  ;  and  the 
fourth,  called  Horqueta,  is  opposite  the  Mission  of  Ur- 
bana — explaining  how  and  in  what  kind  of  vessels 
said  river  is  navigable  around  these  mouths,  and  of 


Letter  M. 
Xo.  1. 


Letter  P. 
Xo.  1. 


KM) 

the  rivrrs  coinjiosinu-  tlic  Apiirf:  amMiiosi  tlp'in  the 
Sanirc,  Iribaiiti',  Alilfs  ami  ("apuro.  It  is  said  that 
twcnty-l'iiiir  h'au'iU's  ln)iii  thr  separation  nt'  tin-  (  )i()- 
chuiia,  at  six.  leagues  above  that  of  the  ( iuarico,  and 
at  u  distance  of  sixty-three  leagues,  that  of  Honjueta 
is  located,  and  from  thence  to  the  Sarare  there  is  a 
distance  of  fift\  leagues.  He  continues,  then,  mak- 
ing a  description  of  the  Missions  on  said  river  and 
its  settlements,  I'ight  in  all,  according  to  his  inspec- 
tion, during  the  month  of  April,  1757. 
LfttiTi'.  43.  The   second    document    contained    in    index 

No.-'.  under  the  No.  2  is  a  letter  from  the  same  Iturriaga, 

<lated  on  the  IGth  of  June,  1757,  sent  from  the  same 
Caln'uta,  stating  that  the  Castle  of  Araya  was  l)uilt 
to  i)i'event  the  Hollanders  from  taking  the  salt  from 
the  salt-pits  contiguous  to  the  place,  as  they  did 
several  times,  and  on  that  account  said  Hollanders 
had  discovered  various  other  salt-pits  which  he  enu- 
merates in  said  letter,  and  that  said  salt-pits  of 
Araya  had  been  lost,  and  he  [iroposed  the  conven- 
ience of  demolishing  the  said  Castle  of  Arajva  on 
account  of  heiiig  too  expensive  to  the  Crown  and 
of  no  further  u<e. 
L.nttT  p.  41.  The   third   doiamieiit   comprised,  as   No.  3  of 

No.:!.  tlie    inde.x,  is  anotlun*    letter    written   hy   the    same 

Iturriaga,  dated  on  the  15th  of  I).'ceml)er  of  the  same 
year,  1757,  in  which  he  reports  his  having  re- 
ceived word  that  the  Hollanders  were  huihling 
another  fort  on  the  Maruca  river,  at  a  short  distance 
from  the  mouth  of  Navios  of  the  ( )rinoco  river,  stat- 
ing that  he  had  sent,  on  that  aeeount.  a  iauneli  to 
go  u[)  the  river  sounding  it,  so  as  to  make  a  survey 
of  the  structure  of  the  fortress,  its  materials,  size, 
uarrison,and  he  was  answered  what  was  to  he  found 
in  a  co})y  acconqtanying  the  letter. 

45.  Sai<l  letter  is  datoil  on  tie-  2  1  of  the  same 
month.  addi'es-;LMl  t(^  Iturriaga  hy  D  hi  .Jum  V^ aides, 
in  which    the   latter  intoi'nis   him  that  he  had  i)rac- 


101 

ticed  the  required  examination  and  found  no  such 
a  fort,  but  only  the  news  that  the  HoUanders  of  the 
Esquivo  Colony  intended  to  change  the  Guard,  that 
under  the  name  of  Post,  they  kept  at  the  Maruca 
creek,  carrying  down  the  same  towards  the  mouth, 
fronting  the  sea,  about  six  leagues  away,  and  that 
they  had  made  a  considerable  progress  felling  the 
trees  around  and  tilling  the  ground  for  farming 
purposes,  and  huilding  houses ;  that  he  did  not 
know  the  reason  of  this  change,  but  heard  that  they 
]>roposed  to  prevent  the  fugitive  slaves  of  the  Com- 
pany and  residents  of  tlie  Colony  from  coming  over 
to  our  dominions;  that  from  the  Guard,  kept  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Maruca,  they  could  recognize  any  ves- 
sels passing  along  the  coast  towards  the  large  mouth 
without  entering  there,  and  he  explained  the  kind 
of  vessels  that  could  navigate  around  there. 

46.  And  continuing  his  letter  Iturriaga  said,  that    itumaga's 

letter 

from  this  report  he  understood  that  they  wanted  to 

X    1  T    1  1  •  T  -1  •  1      •  Folio  1. 

establish  sugar  plantations,  adding  to  then-  masters 
and  slaves  a  number  of  Aruaca  Indians,  who  were 
those  who  enjoyed  their  confidence  in  the  highest 
degree,  so  as  to  prevent  the  transit  of  soldier  desert- 
ers and  Indian  and  negro  slaves  through  that  place, 
and  that  it  might  be  that  to  this  end,  and  in  order 
to  protect  their  plantations  from  any  rising  of  the 
slaves  of  one  or  tlie  other  kind,  they  might  build  a 
small  fort  with  two  or  three  small  guns  served  by 
four  or  six  men. 

47.  That  the  Governor  of  Esquivo  called  himself 
in  his  letters  patent  to  be  such  likewise  of  the  Ori- 
noco ;  that  if  the  Hollanders  were  allowed  to  hold 
Maruca  they  would  come  over  to  Barima,  which 
emptied  its  waters  through  the  same  mouth,  and 
from  thence  they  should  proceed  to  the  Aguirre 
river,  the  mouth  of  which  was  at  the  same  Orinoco ; 
that  it  was  not  ver}^  proper  that  he  should  style 
himself  Governor  of  Esquivo  and   also  of  the  Ori- 


102 

iioco,  l)Ut  that  it  was  to  tlicir  interest  to  do  so  in 
order  t(^  he  allowed  to  <;•()  up  tlir  river  to  the  Aruaca 
Indians  to  eatrli  tui'tles;  that  the  Connnaiider  of 
Guayana  assented,  and  alhi\Vf<l  tlicni  permits  for 
their  different  hoats  to  <j,u  up  the  river  with  that 
view;  that  on  these  occasions  Aruaca  Indians  and 
Carihs  use<l  to  u'o  with  tlie  Ildlhnuh'rs,  avoiding  to 
V)e  discovered,  and  they  used  io  land  at  the  Caura 
river  and  other  places  to  purchase  Indian  slaves 
from  the  Caril)S,  while  the  rest  of  the  party  were  fish- 
ing turtles,  and  some  times  these  very  fishermen  ])ur- 
chased  other  Indian  slaves  from  the  Carihs,  l)ringing 
on  tlieir  return  a  great  nnndn'i-  of  them. 
Letter  do.  48.  The  fourtli  document,  luarked  at  the  index 
No.  4.  with  the  numher  four,  is  another  letter  written  l)y 

the  same  Iturriaga  on  the  l'>th  of  April,  ]7o8,  in 
which  he  states,  in  regard  to  his  report  ahout  the 
affairs  of  the  Maruca  river,  that  he  had  received  a 
letter  from  the  Commander  of  Guayana  answering 
the  nine  questions  that  he  had  proposed,  and  a 
copy  of  which  he  forwards  enclosed. 

49.  From  the  letter  of  the  80th  of  Afareh  of  that 
year  sent  to  Iturriaga  hy  Don  Juan  A'ahles,  it  afipears 
that  the  change  of  the  Guard  with  the  name  of  Post, 
held  hy  the  Hollanders  of  the  Es([uivo  Colony,  at  a 
distance  of  aliout  tweiity  leagues  li-om  it,  situated  at 
the  river  Moruca,  had  not  heen  carried  out:  that 
they  had  erected  oidy  a  hous(>  fifteen  yards  in 
length  at  the  mouth  on  the  sea  shore,  with  mud 
walls  and  doors,  intended,  as  they  said,  for  passen- 
gers trading  with  said  Colony,  so  as  to  remain  there 
during  the  intei-niissions  of  the  river  navigation  on 
account  of  the  low  and  high  tide;  that  the  Guard 
or  Post  was  kept  in  the  same  place  without  any  in- 
crease of  troops  or  artillery;  this  latter  consisted  of 
three  cannons  of  thice  jxtund  calihei'  dismounted,  one 
cor})oraI,  and  two  soldiers,  so  that  the  ^Vruaca  In- 
dians who  resided  in  that  place,  for  the   purpose  of 


103 

trade,  were  found  in  three  divisions  of  people,  each 
one  composed  of  ten  or  twelve  small  houses,  each 
corresponding  to  an  Indian  family,  at  a  distance  of 
one  league  or  more,  each  division  from  the  other 
following  the  banks  of  the  Moruca  river,  and  that 
this  place  was  about  seven  leagues  far  from  the  sea, 
and  the  rest  being  thirteen  up  to  the  Colony  along 
the  sea  coast. 

50.  Iturriaga's  letter  continued,  stating  that  the 
Esquivo  Hollanders  made  public  and  held  that  the 
extension  of  the  domain  of  the  States  -  General 
reached  the  mouth  of  Navios,  or  the  large  mouth  of 
the  Orinoco  river,  and  even  went  far  inland  to  con- 
tinue to  enjoy  the  right  of  fishing,  so  valuable  to 
them  on  account  of  the  total  want  of  meat  on  shore 
and  the  great  scarcity  of  fish  in  their  river. 

51.  Tlie  fifth  document,  marked  number  five  by 
the  index,  is  a  report  of  Don  Josef  Solano,  in  view  of 
the  letters  written  by  Don  Josef  Iturriaga,  agreeing 

wnth  him  in  regard  to  the  demolition  of  the  Castle  foUoi. 
of  Araya,  as  the  only  object  of  said  fortress  was  the 
defence  of  the  salt-pit  contiguous  to  it,  and  the 
English  had  been  allowed,  by  article  third  of  the 
treaty  of  Munster,  the  right  of  availing  themselves 
of  the  salt  produced  at  the  island  of  Tortuga,  and 
that  fortress  did  not  prevent  the  access  to  Cumana 
or  the  coast  of  the  Province  by  foreign  vessels,  and 
did  not  answer  any  essential  purjiose;  that  in  case 
of  an  attack  by  any  enemy  it  could  not  receive  any 
help  from  the  land.  As  to  the  description  of  the 
Apure  river,  he  Ibund  it  entirely  in  accordance 
with  the  rejjorts  he  had  received,  as  he  observes, 
that  the  Barina  parties,  in  view  of  the  falling- 
price  of  tobacco,  on  account  of  the  increased  produc- 
tion of  the  Provinces  of  Caracas  and  Maracaibo, 
near  the  coast,  with  more  facilities  for  the  transpor- 
tation, and  that  the  expense  of  conveyance  of  their 
own  product  l^eing  hardly  er|ual  to  its  original  value, 


104 

had  (Iccidcil  Id  open  tlic  iia\-iL!,al  inii  of  tlic.\]iure 
river,  wliicli  cuiptics  intn  tlic  (  )imiiiic<i,  in  nnlrr  to 
make  even  t lie  (lill'crciict'  i,\  price;  tliat  tlie  intro- 
duction of  tobaeeo  in  liiat  Ti^ovinee  lirouuiit  almut 
losses  to  tlie  i>lanters  and  tiieir  adherents,  and  the 
abandonment  of  thi'ir  plantations  :  tiiat  that  part  (»f 
Folio  2  the  country  wouhl  have  been  left  witiiout  any  popu- 
lation, if  theyliad  not  been  re})hieed  liv  ai'rivals  from 
tile  new  Kingdom  of  Clrenada  :  tliat  liie  Indian  si't- 
tlements  failed  to  receive  this  kind  of  new  visitors, 
and  their  decadence  continued,  and  the  instruction  of 
the  infidels  embarrassed  liy  the  suggestions  of  tbose 
wanting  them  in  tlie  woods,  for  the  continuance  of 
their  illicit  trade.  And  in  reterenee  to  the  other 
two  letters  from  Iturriaga,  dealing  witii  tlie  pi'ctcn- 
sions  of  tlie  (Joveinor  of  the  l)ntch  Colony  ol'  the 
Es((uivo  river,  and  what  they  said  about  the  <  )rinoco, 
founded  upon  the  titles  wdiicli  theyliad  from  the 
States-Cu'Ueral,  giving  them  as  under  tliat  jurisdic- 
tion, Solano  ex})laiiied  that  notwithstanding  he 
did  not  know  that  they  had  claimed  the  prizes  that 
had  been  made  by  the  Trinitai'ians  and  (luayana 
])arties,  in  the  waters  of  tliat  river,  nor  againsl  their 
dislodgmeiit  from  tlie  Post,  that  they  had  built  on 
the  Cuyuni  river,  for  the  purpose  of  ])rotecting  their 
parties,  entering  in  (iuayaiia  to  pui'ehase  Indian 
slaves  from  the  Carib  tribe,  he  conhl  not  find,  on 
what  ground  they  could  base  their  pretensions; 
that  although  ai'ticle  littli  of  the  treaty  of  Munster 
o-ranted  them  the  domain  of  the  countries,  forts, 
factories,  etc.,  possessed  by  them,  at  that  time  in 
.\merica,  they  had  none  on  the  <)rinoco.  nor  any- 
l)oily  else  than  th(>  S})aniards  liad  ever  had  any 
there  uj)  to  that  time;  that  they  did  not  hold  noi' 
had  ever  held  any  place,  stronghold,  castle,  lisheries, 
liunting  establishments,  nor  land  enjoyments;  that 
they  could  not  derive  any  rights  from  the  tacit  or 
even  express  consent  of  the  Commanders  of  Guayana 


105 

and  Orinoco  granted  several  times,  allowing  them 
to  fish  around  the  mouth  of  Navios,  and  the  rivers 
Barima  and  Aguirre,  emptying  into  the  same,  nor 
in  the  Barracks  for  salting  and  drying  fish,  nor  in 
the  navigation  which  they  had  furtively  covered 
under  permits,  go  up  to  Guayana  or  farther  on;  nor 
could  they  legalize  the  Post  or  Guard  which  they 
held  at  the  Moruca  river,  as  reported  by  the  same 
Iturriaga,  said  treaty  forbidding  them  from  erecting 
new  fortifications  under  any  pretext  whatever ;  that 
they  could  only  allege  the  patience  of  the  Com- 
manders of  Guayana  in  regard  to  tiiat  usurpation. 

52.  That  in  the  meantime  the  Hollanders  were  foHos. 
drawing  their  domain  towards  the  large  mouth  of 
the  Orinoco,  and  with  an  easy  navigation  intro- 
duced themselves  through  the  same,  and  the  rivers 
Apure,  Meta,  and  others  into  the  Provinces  of  Bar- 
celona, Caracas,  and  Barinas,  in  detriment  to  the 
Royal  Treasury,  and  the  progress  of  the  Spanish 
jtopulation,  which  augmented  superabundantly  in 
the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  Cit}^  Capital 
neir  the  sea,  the  people  went  in  farther  and  farther 
inland  and  extended  to  the  Orinoco,  guided  and 
several  times  united  to  tlie  Missioners  ;  that  with 
the  safeguard  of  that  great  river  and  the  help  min- 
istered by  Dutch  interest  to  the  barbarian  Caribs, 
they  refused  to  hear  words  of  peace  and  denied  to 
the  Spaniards  their  navigation  and  the  pass  of  the 
Missioners,  causing  the  death  of  many  holy  men  and 
many  faithful  Indians,  and  that  most  of  their  new 
settlements  should  be  suspended  and  the  progress 
and  diffusion  of  our  holy  faith  stopped,  and  that  the 
Rev.  Fathers  could  not  have  remained  without  the 
assistance  and  countenance  of  His  Majesty  in  keep- 
ing, as  has  been  done  by  his  glorious  predecessors, 
the  troops  and  escort  necessary  to  protect  them 
within  the  Garrison  and  Castle  of  Guayana.  And 
said  Solano  contiiuiing  his  report,  pointed  out  the 


100 

places  where  the  rortr('--S(\-^  onnht  to  l)c  erected  lor 
tlie  flelViicc  ol'  the  ()riii()C()  and  the  Province  of 
Ciiiiiaiia  and  the  otlicrs,  and  the  shes  where  they 
ouglit  to  be  hjcated  witli  tiieir  garrisons,  concluding 
with  an  expression  of  his  opinion,  recommending 
the  creation  l^y  the  government  of  the  office  of  mili- 
tary commanih'r  for  the  Orinoco,  as  it  was  import- 
ant to  withdraw  the  city  to  the  site  of  Angostura 
(a  narrow  i)hu'e  u])  the  river),  removing  the  neigh- 
boring Indian  settlements  to  a  better  climate ;  that 
the  residents  of  Guayana  should  withdraw  tiieir 
cattle,  so  as  to  deprive  the  enemy  from  that  kind  of 
food,  lieliiing  our  forces  and  making  impossible  or 
difficult  to  obtain  fresh  beef  or  mules  for  the  sugar 
mills  of  the  Dutch  Colony  of  Esquivo,  and  forl)id- 
ding  tlie  catth^  owners  of  the  Capuchin  Mission 
from  discovering  the  country  between  them  and  the 
Colony,  and  that  witli  the  forts  already  established 
as  recommended,  and  the  garrisons,  the  city  re- 
moved, and  the  neighboring  settlements  as  well, 
and  the  troops  united  from  the  Orinoco,  Apure  and 
Meta  rivers,  together  with  the  creation  of  the  office  of 
Governor  for  tlie  Province  of  Guayana,  the  obnoxi- 
ous introduction  of  strangers  could  be  made  impos- 
sible and  the  })ious  ends  of  His  Majesty  facilitated. 
LetterP.  53.  The   docuineut    marked   by   the    index  under 

No. 6.  number  6  is  a  letter  written   on  the   oth   of  A}»ril, 

Tesumony.  1770.  l)y  tlie  Commander  of  Guayana,  Don  Manuel 
Xu.  1.  Centnriiin,  in    which,  according   to   the  order  dated 

Foi.7.  SeptendxT   'I'.l.  1 7(i*-*,  sent  to   him  with    a    co]ty  of  a 

Foi.i.  despatch  from  the  Ministeruf  Holland,  as  a  reserve(l 

matter,  his  attention  is  called  to  its  contents  for  his 
report,  as  soon  as  possible,  on  the  facts  represented 
by  the  same,  stating,  for  the  knowledge  of  His  ^Nla- 
jesty,  what  has  happened;  he  stated  what  will  be 
found  below,  accompanied  with  his  letter  of  the 
Sth,  and  a  statement  of  the  evidence  in  regard  tO' 
the  mjitter,  sending  likewise  a  plan  of  the  Province- 
of  ( iuavana. 


107 

54.  And  proceeding,  in  regard  to  the  requirements  th^^"om- 
of  the  above  contents,  I  have  to  say  that  the  judicial  GuaVa*ila.  " 
proceedings  copied  herewith  show  that  the  Director  of 

the  Colony  of  Escjuivo,  Lorenzo  Hormoan  {sic)  Grave- 
sand,  had  intended  to  alarm  the  States  General  with 
impositions,  and  that  the  Republic  of  Holland  had 
heard  the  complaints  sent  by  means  of  its  Minister 
to  our  court,  in  reference  to  the  conduct  of  the  Span- 
iards of  the  Orinoco  against  that  Colony  ;  that  it  ap- 
pears from  the  first  part  of  the  proceedings,  number 
1,  that  the  Hollanders  were  not,  and  never  had  been, 
in  possession  of  the  rivers  nor  rivulets  emptying 
their  waters  into  the  sea  on  the  coast  extending  from 
the  Esquivo  to  the  Orinoco  rivers,  nor  had  had 
around  there  any  other  establishment  tlian  a  guard 
kept  within  a  straw-roofed  barrack,  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  Moruca  or  Maroco  river,  that  had  been 
tolerated,  during  the  last  forty  years,  to  prevent  the 
desertion  of  their  slaves;  that  under  this  pretext 
they  have  carried  the  iniquitous  trade  with  the  bar- 
barous Indians  and  cruel  Caribs,  buying  from  them 
Indians  as  slaves  taken  by  surprise  after  killing- 
other  tribes  that  were  peacefully  and  freely  residing 
within  the  dominions  of  the  King  our  Lord. 

55.  It  was  also  shown  by  the  above-mentioned  part    foHo  -i. 
number  1  that  the  Hollanders  were  not  in  possession 

of  the  Maseron}^  (jMazaroni)  nor  of  the  other  rivers 
emptying  into  the  Esquivo,  on  the  western  side,  and 
that  it  was  necessary  to  undeceive  them,  removing 
that  error,  from  whence  were  derived  their  un- 
founded complaints.  That  the  Esquivo  river  runs 
parallel  approximately  to  the  coast  of  the  ocean 
from  the  neighborhood  of  the  Corentin  until  it 
reaches  the  sea,  forty-five  leagues  east  of  the  mouth 
of  the  Orinoco  ;  all  the  rivers  proceeding  from  the  in- 
terior of  the  Province  of  Guayana  and  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  coast,  between  the  mouth  of  the  Corentin 
and  the  Esquivo,  meet  precisely  at  this  last  one,  that 
runs  across  and  receives  their  waters.    If,  as  the  HoL 


108 

laiulci-s  r-upiwiscil,  tlicir  hiiul  was  to  onibrat'e  llii' 
I'ivei's  ami  liviilct-  of  the  JCsijuivo,  coinpri.sin,^  Cay- 
uni,  Masi'iMiiy,  Mao,  Ai»anoni,  rutura,  and  other 
snialK'i-  rivers,  with  their  l>raiiehes  and  sources,  as 
within  the  territory  ol  tlic  Ui'|>iihlie,  the  strangers 
slioiild  hold  a  hir^er  |iorii(iii  of  hinds  than  our  King 
in  the  Troxdnee  of  (iuayana.  as  is  shown  hy  the  ac- 
(•oin|ianying  jihiii  that  he  liad  <h'awn  as  part  of  his 
report,  marking  in  yeUow  eoloi-  wliat  in  his  judg- 
ment could  l)e  pretended  hy  the  Hollanders  Ijv 
right  of  possession  acMpiireil  in  any  way  until  to-day. 
^Guayana  5(;_  ]r,.,„,,  (ii-^t  plaii  it  aj. pears  that  the  Dutch 
couhl  lay  elaim  only  to  the  possession  of  the  rivers 
Surinam,  ('upt-rnam,  Corentin,  Bervis,  Denierari, 
Es(|uivo  and  Tovarou  {■'^ir). 
fni'Ml'Vii.'  •'"•  < ''»iitiiiuing  his  I'epresentation,  tlie  Centurion 
AVmmami.i-^^'*'''^  that  the  Spanish  detachment  that  Gravesand 
Foiio2.  ■''iii*!  hi  have  advaneeil  in  tlie  year  17<)!),  JYom  the 
Orinoco  up  totiie  port  of  Cuyuni.  and  taken  many 
Indians,  tlireatening  to  return,  in  order  to  go  to 
the  Maserony  river  an<l  take  a  party  of  Caribs  and 
go  <h)wn  the  river  to  visit  the  Company's  Barrack, 
was  undoubtedly  a  story  of  the  Poytos' agent ;  that 
the  Hollanders  had.  and  have  there  still,  said  Bar- 
rack, regretting  to  see  that  seveial  savage  Indians, 
Cari1>s  as  well  as  Guaicas,  of  those  who  resided  in 
that  neighborhood,  had  come  over  to  settle  within  our 
Missions,  as  it  was  not  true  that  any  detaehmeiit  of 
troops  had  been  sent  IVom  (oiayana  in  the  direction 
of  those  rivers,  and  that  the  exponent  knew  that 
during  the  last  few  years  the  Catalan  Capuchin 
i'^athers  had  received  in  their  settlements  several 
Indians  fr<>ni  the  mountains  lietween  Cuyuni  and 
Maserony,  under  solicitation  of  the  same  Caribs; 
that  there  are  about  live  thousand  of  them  in  their 
settlements,  and  that  for  over  twenty  years  back  our 
Missionaries  had  never  heard  until  liOW  that  this 
poweiiul  tribe  was  belonging  to  the  1  )utch,  as  stated 


109 

bv  Gravesand,  and  luueh  less  that  those  mountains 
were  within  the  territory  of  the  repubhc,  as  they  had 
always  been  a  proper  field  set  ai>ait  for  the  work  of 
the  Missions  under  the  Catalan  Capuchin  Fathers. 

oS.  That  the  two  houses  under  the  garrison  of 
many  troops,  as  seen  by  part  number  1,  were  two 
Indian  settlements  founded  by  the  Catalan  Capu- 
chin Fathers,  on  the  banks  of  the  Yuruario  river, 
joined  to  the  other  Missions,  and  witiiout  any  more 
garrison  than  one  soldier  to  each  one,  for  the  escort 
of  the  Missioners;  that  it  was  likewise  false  the 
supposed  proximity  of  the  Barrack  of  the  Com- 
pany, distant  over  seventy  leagues  of  bad  roads. 

59.  That  the  seizure  of  the  Moruca  Indians  by 
the  Spaniards  consisted  in  the  visit  of  two  Catalan 
Capuchin  Fathers,  escorted  as  customary,  who  went 
up  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Barinia  river,  in  quest 
of  Indian  deserters  from  the  Missions  in  their  charge, 
and  having  found  them  dispersed,  around  those 
creeks  between  the  Guayne  and  Moruca  (a  territorv 
contiguous  to  the  Orinoco,  never  occupied  by  Hol- 
landers) ;  that  while  gathering  the  Indians  at  the 
Post  or  Barrack  of  ^loruca,  where  the  Hollanders 
kept  a  guard,  it  was  discovered  tliat  three  Indian 
women  with  their  children  were  enslaved  after  hav- 
ing been  taken  through  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco, 
and,  as  was  reported  l)y  the  Reverend  Fathers,  they 
were  taken  back  to  "  the  Missions  without  doing  any 
other  harm  to  the  Hollanders;"  on  the  contrary, 
they  gave  to  the  guard  on  duty,  and  at  liis  request, 
as  a  favor,  a  certificate  of  the  case,  rather  moved  to 
compassion  and  exceeding  themselves  in  saying 
that  they  had  a  permit  of  the  deponent  for  entering 
that  })ort,  which  was  not  true,  as  the  passport  given 
to  the  pilot  of  the  launch  was  not  extended  to  go 
any  farther  than  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  as  shown 
by  part  number  I. 

00.  That  the  deaths   of  the  o-uard  of  the  Arin<la 


no 

Barrack  ami  the  Cai-ilis  of  (he  ium^IiIioi-IkkxI,  at- 
tributed to  the  Spaniards  by  the  J)ireet()r  of  I^siiuivo, 
was  a  oToundiess  iinpositioii,  as  that  port  was  l)eyond 
our  reach,  or  even  our  notice,  as  shown  iiy  said  ]>ai't 
number  1. 
Tistiinoiiy.  (>1.  Froui  this  docuiuful ,  and  in  view  of  tl)e  JJoyal 
No.  1.  ( )r<U'r  conveying    it,  for    the    guiihince  of  the  Gov- 

Foi.s.  ernor  of  Guayaua,  witli  tlie  despatch  from  the  Min- 

ister of  Holland,  in  order  to  rei)ort  about  the  par- 
ticulars it  contained,  it  appears  that  a  rule  was 
issued  under  the  24tii  of  March,  1760,  by  which  hav- 
ing it  placed  as  heading  of  the  proceedings,  together 
witli  the  Royal  orders  and  documents  accompany- 
ing the  same,  an  investigation  1)efore  the  judical 
tribunal  was  commenced,  about  the  facts  and  details 
contained  in  the  document  from  the  States-General, 
and  calling  as  witnesses  those  that  might  be  in  posi- 
tion to  ex[)lain  the  circumstances,  in  order  to  state 
under  oath  what  they  knew. 
Folio  9.  02.  Therefore  in  compliance  with    tlie  same  rule 

the  following  witnesses  were  examined  :  Fray  Benito 
de  la  Garriga,  ex-Prefect  of  the  Catalan  Capuchin 
Mission  of  Guayana,  fifty-eight  years  old ;  Fra}' 
Tomas  de  San  Pedro,  Capuchin  of  the  (Uiayana  Mis- 
sions, fitly-three  years  old  ;  Fray  Josef  Antonio  de 
Cerbera,  Capuchin  of  the  Guayana  Missions,  forty- 
nine  years  old  :  l''r.  l'\'lix  <le  Tarraga,  Capuchin 
Missioner  of  Guayana,  thirty-four  years  old;  Don 
Feliz  Ferreras,  Lieutenant  of  Inftmtry  of  the  Guay- 
ana J'^ortress,  fifty-sevt'U  years  old  ;  Don  Santiago 
r>oii;d(lr,  a  resident  of  Guayana,  fort^'-six  years  old. 
iuj.  All  agreed  in  their  corresponding  affidavits, 
stating,  without  descrepancy,  that  the  Hollandi'rs 
Were  not  and  had  nevei'  been  in  j)OSSession  of  the 
rivers  nor  rivulets,  emptying  their  -waters  into  the 
the  sea  along  the  coast  from  the  Esquivo  exclus^'vely 
to  the  mouth  of  the  i-iver  (Ji'inoco;  that  they  had 
only  l)een  tolerate<l    on    that  side,  f(~>r  the  purpose  of 


Ill 

keeping  a  guard  consisting  of  two  Europeans  and 
several  Indians  at  a  Barrack  called  the  Post,  on  the 
eastern  margin  of  the  Moruca  river,  (cr.Ued  by  the 
Hollanders  Maroco,)  and  that  this  establishment  has 
not  been  there  for  any  quasi  immemorial  time,  as 
tlie  Colony  itself,  as  it  is  well  known,  was  only  es- 
tablished in  the  year  1639. 

That  it  was  untrue  that  they  have  had  or  had  any 
possession  of  the  Cuyuni  river  (called  by  them  Cao- 
yeny),  as  having  established  there  a  guard  and  bar- 
rack similar  to  that  of  Moruca,  in  the  year  of  1747, 
to  facilitate  the  inhuman  trade  and  conveyance  of 
Indians  whom  they  enslaved  surreptitiously  from  the 
dominions  of  the  King  our  Lord,  for  the  cultivation 
of  their  plantations  and  improvement  of  the  Colony, 
as  soon  as  notice  of  the  case  was  received  in  the  year 
1757,  they  were  dislodged  from  there,  so  that  neither 
on  the  Cuyuni,  Maseron}^  Ap[)oni,  nor  in  any  of  the 
other  rivers  emptying  into  the  Escjuivo  have  the 
Hollanders  any  possessions  nor  could  be  tolerated 
that  they  should,  because  said  rivers  embrace  nearly 
all  the  territory  of  the  Province  of  Guayana,  run- 
ning from  their  occidental  end,  where  their  head- 
waters are  found,  down  to  the  oriental  limit,  empty- 
ing into  the  Esquivo  river,  it  should  result  from  the 
supposed  possession  that  the  Hollanders  would  be 
the  masters  of  all  the  extensive  Province  of  Guayana, 
and  that  the  Spaniards  had  no  more  than  the  said 
banks  of  the  Orinoco,  an  evident  absurdity;  that 
tlie  only  place  where  they  were  tolerated  was  on  the 
margins  of  the  Esquivo  river,  running  southeast  and 
northwest,  almost  parallel  with  the  ocean  coast,  the 
eastern  term  of  the  Province  of  Guayana,  and  leaving 
free  all  the  interior  of  this  Province  to  the  Spaniards, 
their  lawful  holders;  that  they  did  not  know  nor 
had  ever  heard  that  the  Spaniards  had  built  any 
stronghold  on  the  Cuyuni  nor  in  its  surroundings  with 
many  or  few  troops,  but  tliey  rather  thought  that  Mon- 


n2 

sieiir  <li'  (Irjivcsainl  li;iil  illl;l^■ill(■ll  to  lie  >(j,  tlu'  two 
settlements  of  Indian  Missions  establisiioil  undoi'tlic 
Catahiii  (JapLK'liin  l"\itliers' i-ulej'onnded  in  the  vi-ar 
1757  and  17(Jl  on  the  western  mai'uin  of  the  Yu- 
I'uari  river,  a  tributary  of  tlie  Cuyuni,  at  a  distance 
of  seventy  leagues  from  the  Dutch  barraek  destroyed  ; 
that  the  reason  they  had  t(j  Ijelieve  it  is  that  they 
had  no  other  establishment  in  that  dii'ection,  and 
that  althougli  thei'e  were  no  more  than  one  soldier 
in  any  of  these  settlements  for  the  escort  of  the  Mis- 
sionaries, the  Caribs,  whose  statements  seem  to  be 
believed  by  Monsieur  de  Gravesand,  as  he  says  ni 
his  statement,  may  have  deceived  him  with  this 
story,  as  it  appeared  by  a  few  others  contained  in  its 
erroneous  statement. 
Foi.iitoH.  That  the  witnesses  1,  2,  3,  and  4,  said  that  in  Feb- 
I'uai-y  of  i7t)'.»,  the  Prefect  ot  the  Missions  of  the 
Capuchins  (who  is  the  witness  1)  gave  a  pernut  to 
Father  Josef  Cerbera  and  Father  Felix  Taraga  (who 
are  witnesses  3  and  4)  to  go  down  to  the  month  of 
the  Orinoco  and  Uarima  rivers,  to  gather  the  Aina- 
eas,  the  (inaraunos,  deserters  from  the  Missions  un- 
der their  charge,  and  that  said  Fathers,  with  the 
launch  and  escort  leading  them,  found  two  dispersed 
Indians  among  the  Guayne  and  Moi  uca.  and  after 
gathering  them  they  I'eached  a  port,  where  there 
was  a  Hollander  who  had  three  Indian  women  with 
their  childi'eu  enslaved,  l)rought  out  from  the  mouth 
of  the  (Ji'inoco,  according  to  their  statements  to  the 
Fathers,  that  they  brought  them  back  to  the  Mis- 
sions, but  without  using  any  viol- nee,  doing  any 
harm  to  the  Ilohanders.  Witnesses  3  and  4  added 
that  they  were  the  Gonimissioners,  and  with  the 
view  of  favoring  tiie  I  lollandeis,  at  the  re(jUe-t  of  a 
corj)oral,  in  eharge  of  the  Post,  who  asked  on  his 
knees  and  crying,  for  something  to  show  the  nature 
of  the  case,  they  gave  him  a  eei'tificate  to  satisfy  the 
Governoi'  of   l^sipiivo;  and    that    without    knowing 


113 

the  malice  of  his  pretensions,  and  in  pity  for  tlie 
man,  amphfied  the  certificate,  saying  tliat  they  had 
a  permit  of  the  Commander-General  of  Orinoco  at 
Guayana,  to  enter  as  far  as  that  place,  when  it  was 
not  so,  as  the  passport  given  to  the  pilot  of  the 
lannch,  carrying  them,  w^as  definitely  limited  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Orinoco  ;  and  that  for  the  rest  they 
had  no  permit  for  more  nor  any  further  order  from 
their  Superior.  Witness  5,  in  reference  to  this  par- 
ticular subject  of  what  happened  on  last  February,  foi.  17. 
said  that  he  did  not  know  anything,  as  he  was  in 
Rio  Xegro  at  the  time.  And  the  sixth  witness  said  foi/io. 
that  he  knew  only  that  the  Capuchin  Fathers  had 
made  tluit  trip  and  had  taken  away  the  fugitive  In- 
dians from  their  settlement  found  there;  that  on 
their  return,  through  the  creeks  and  plains  between 
the  Guayne  and  Moruca,  they  had  reached  a  Barrack 
Post  of  the  Hollanders  and  found  two  or  three  In- 
dians, natives  of  our  dominions,  whom  they  had  en- 
slaved and  brought  them  back  to  their  Missions, 
without  having  done  any  harm  or  hostility  to  said 
Hollanders.  Continuing,  all  the  six  witnesses  united 
stated  that  in  regard  to  the  Post  and  commercial 
house  that  Gravesand  supposed  to  have  been  kept  by 
the  Dutch  Company,  tjetween  Guayne  and  Poveron 
(Pumaron),  they  did  not  know  nor  had  heard  any- 
thing of  such  an  establishment ;  that  they  did  not 
know  anything  about  the  death  of  the  corporal 
of  the  Arinda  Barrack,  at  the  headwaters  of  the 
Esquivo,  nor  of  tlie  existence  of  said  Barrack  ;  that 
it  was  incredible  for  the  witnesses  that  the  Orinoco 
Spaniards  or  the  Indians  of  our  persuasion  should 
have  per[)ertrated  the  said  homicide,  as  the  distance 
is  long  and  unknow.i  to  us,  and  they  had  never 
heard,  around  the  Orinoco,  of  such  a  death  and  that 
it  was  the  first  time  they  heard  of  the  Arinda  Bar- 
rack. 

That  being  located,  as   Gravesand  said,  towards 

Vol.  ir,  Ven.— 8 


114 

the  source  of  Esquivo  Rivrr,  it  \vas  inaecessibk'  to 
ourselves  and  to  our  Imlians,  as  tin*  K^iiuivo  Col- 
ony is  found  between  said  source  and  (jur  settle- 
ments, preventing  a  pass;  tliai  llu'v  li.id  never  seen 
or  heard  tliat  the  HoUanders  kei)t  on  fishing  at  the 
month  of  the  Orinoco,  nor  that  the  Spaniards  had 
had  to  stop  it;  that  they  did  not  understand  that 
there  was  any  necessity  for  the  Jlolhmders  to  fish  at 
the  mouth  of  tlie  Orinoco,  as  they  couhl  provide 
themselves  with  fish  mnch  nearer  to  the  Esquivo, 
and  thought  that  un(h'i'  jjivtext  of  fishing  they 
wanted  to  have  the  free  access  of  their  vessels  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  in  order  to  facilitate  and 
re-establish  the  furtive  shipincnt  of  mules  from  the 
Guarapichc  and  (luarapo  rivers,  as  well  as  Barinas 
tobacco,  hides,  and  other  products  of  the  Spanish 
Provinces,  in  order  to  materially  benefit  their  col- 
onies at  the  time  when  the  Orinoco  and  its  creeks 
were  not  as  well  guarded  as  now;  that  this  circum- 
stance and  want  of  commerce  was  the  true  cause  of 
the  decadence  of  Esquivo  and  of  the  resentment  of 
Gravesand,  the  first  merchant,  and  always  the  most 
interested  in  the  illicit  trade  of  the  Colony.  Wit- 
Fois.  17&  10.  nesses  5  and  G  adding  that  only  in  the  year  1700  the 
Lieutenant,  Don  Juan  de  Flores,  seized  a  schooner 
and  two  launches  from  Esquivo  at  the  Orinoco  river 
and  the  Barima,  its  confluent,  while  under  the  em- 
ployment of  a  few  Hollanders,  who  were  around 
those  creeks  buying  Poytos  from  the  Caribs;  that 
said  vessels  were  confiscated  by  the  GTOvernraent  of 
Cumana,  from  where  (luayana  was  at  that  time  a 
depentlence.  Following  in  their  attidavits,  the  six 
witnesses  assured  that  the  proposition  was  likewise 
false,  that  they  had  been  ])re vented  by  the  Si)aniar(ls 
of  the  territory  from  fishing,  observing  that  Grave- 
sand  claims  as  belonging  to  the  State  the  territory 
extending  from  the  Mareguine  river  down  to  this 
side  of  the  Guayne  very  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Orinoco;  that  said  statement  is  an  intolerable  error. 


115 

That  in  regard  to  the  fugitive  slaves  from  Esquivo, 
the  witnesses  asserted  that  they  were  of  two  kinds, 
one  consisting  of  negroes  bought  in  Africa,  and  the 
otlier  of  Indians  tliat  the  Hollanders  draw  them- 
selves unduh"  and  cruelly,  by  means  of  the  Caribs, 
their  allies,  from  our  dominions,  b}^  way  of  the 
Moruca  and  Guayne  rivers,  empt^dng  their  waters 
into  the  sea  and  in  communication  with  the  Orinoco, 
or  else  through  the  rivers  Cuyuni,  Maserony,  Apa- 
non}--  and  others,  bringing  their  waters  from  the  in- 
terior of  the  Province  of  Guayana  and  emptying 
them  into  the  Esquivo  ;  that  if  the  reason  for  our  re- 
tention of  said  Indians  is  wanted,  nothing  could  be 
plainer  than  our  motives  for  such  conduct,  being 
subjects  of  the  King  criminally  enslaved  by  the  Hol- 
landers, who  carry  on  tliis  inhuman  traffic  witli  the 
Caribs  against  every  right,  we  can  not  and  ought  not 
to  have  them  return  to  slavery  after  they  had  suc- 
ceeded happily  in  eluding  it  under  the  protection  of 
the  ministers  of  our  lawful  Lord  and  Sovereign. 
That  in  regard  to  the  negroes,  Gravesand  was  wrong, 
because  notwithstanding  that  the  witnesses  knew 
that  two  fugitives,  negroes  from  the  Guayana  to  the 
Esquivo  Colony,  were  sold  there  b}""  said  Gravesand, 
and  that  their  masters,  Don  Tomas  de  Franquis  and 
Catherine  de  Arocha,  residents  of  Guayana,  had 
claimed  them,  no  satisfaction  whatever  was  given 
them,  and  notwithstanding  that  case,  they  knew  that 
several  claims  b}'  Gravesand  of  fugitives  from  Es- 
cpiivo  to  Guayana  had  been  paid  to  the  owners,  who 
were  satisfied  to  receive  the  price  of  the  proceeds  of 
their  slaves ;  that  the  only  exception  was  in  favor 
of  those  fugitive  slaves  who,  after  embracing  the 
Catholic  religion,  had  l)een  made  free,  according  to 
the  instructions  from  the  King. 

(3-1.  And  having  summoned  the  persons  of  Fran-    foi.  20  and 
quis  and  Augustina  Arroyo,  they  said  it  was  true       "  "^^ •"':<■ 
that  at  the  end  of  last  year,  1766,  two  slaves,  one  of 
wliom  was  called  Ambrosio,  belonging  to  Franquis, 


116 

ami  the  Dtln-r  I'^raiicisco,  ])t'l(Hii;iiii;-  to  Aui^ustiiia, 
hail  run  away,  and  they  ascortaini'd  through  desert- 
ers arrived  t'roiu  Esquivo  to  Guayana,  that  said  two 
negroes  had  heen  sold  in  Kstiuivo  to  a  Lutheran 
Minister  by  the  (Governor  of  that  Colony,  after  he 
had  kept  them  working  at  his  own  plantation,  from 
where  they  escaped  to  be  rearrested  afterwards  at 
the  month  of  the  Orinoco. 
Fois.  17  &  1!).  05.  Witnesses  5  and  6  added  on  the  subject  of  the 
Indians  cruelly  enslaved  by  the  Hollanders,  after 
being  taken  from  our  dominions,  that  they  had 
never  been  claimed,  as  they  well  knew  that  their 
acquisition  was  criminal  and  that  this  inhuman 
traffic  was  made  by  means  of  killing  a  great  many 
innocent  Indians  to  enslave  the  others,  contrary  to 
the  law  of  nations.  All  six  witnesses  testified  that 
neither  the  Indians  nor  the  fugitive  negroes  from 
Esquibo,  as  far  as  they  knew,  had  been  induced  by 
the  Spaniards  to  run  away,  and  it  was  not  likely  to 
be  so,  as  any  one  tbund  guilty  of  such  an  offence 
might  have  been  hung  at  Esquivo;  that  it  was  true 
that  said  ('oloiiy  of  Esquivo  was  undergoing  visible 
ruin,  after  the  doors  had  Ijeen  shut  up  against  their 
illicit  commerce  with  the  Orinoco,  and  the  Poytos 
knew  the  way  to  kee]»  free,  when  tlicy  could  escape 
from  it;  that,  finally,  it  was  not  true  that  the  8})an- 
iards  had  killed  any  guard  or  Dutch  guard  or  had 
attacked  any  other  Post,  than  the  one  at  Cuyuni  in 
the  year  of  1758,  at  the  time  when  one  Spanish 
soldier  was  killed  during  the  attack,  and  that  was 
the  only  death  on  that  occasion.  And  linally,  all 
the  witnesses  ad<led  that  they  knew  i)y  experience, 
the  Missioners  after  twenty-three  years'  residence, 
otliers  nine  and  five,  and  others  as  residents  of 
(iuayana,  twenty-three  to  thirty-three  years,  that  the 
suggestions  of  the  Es(|uivo  Hollanders  and  their 
detestal)le  commerce  in  Poytos  was  the  cause  of  the 
delay  of  the  pO{)ulation  of  the  Caribs  and  their  set- 


tlement  in  our  Missions,  as  well  as  many  otlier 
savage  tribes,  as  the  Hollanders  were  continually 
making  them  work  in  the  wa}^  of  destroying  the 
otlier  settlements  by  different  means,  such  as  burn- 
ing them,  as  it  was  done  in  the  year  1750,  or  attack- 
ing them  by  force  or  making  them  rebel  through 
their  artful  and  diabolical  policy;  that  during  the 
time  the  deponents  had  been  established  in  Guayana, 
the  Hollanders,  in  company  with  the  Caribs  (as  can 
be  seen  by  the  corresponding  proceedings),  had  de- 
stroyed seven  settlements  by  fire,  without  counting 
those  which  they  destroyed  belonging  to  the  Jesuit 
Ministers,  and  killing  likewise  many  of  the  Reverend 
Fathers ;  that  in  all  these  attacks,  witnesses  5  and  6 
added,  Hollanders  were  found  naked  and  dyed  red  foIs.  1S&20. 
like  the  Caribs. 

Q6.  And  liaving  nothing  else  in  reference  to  testi-      Letter  p. 
monv   No.   1,   the   exposition   of  the   Governor   of      Letterot 

^        -  .        ,   .  .  .  ,  .  tli^'  Guay- 

Guayana,  m  his  representations  continues,  showing    anacom- 
that  at  the  Cuvuni   river,  called  bv  the  Hollanders    ^  ,  , 

'  '  _  Fol.  1. 

Oaj^oeny,  they  had  no  other  possession  than  a  farm 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Esquivo  ;  that  they  had  intended 
in  1747  to  establish,  at  a  distance  of  fifteen  or  twenty 
leagues  above,  a  Barrack  and  Guard  to  enslave  In- 
dians from  our  territor}^  through  the  Caribs,  but  as 
soon  as  our  Missioners  ascertained  the  fact  they 
notified  the  Commander  of  Guayana,  who  had  them 
dislodged  in  the  following  year  of  1757  by  a  detach- 
ment, who  set  fire  to  the  Barrack  and  brought  as 
prisoners  the  Hollanders,  one  negro,  and  the  Caribs 
Ibund  in  the  place,  together  with  the  original  in- 
structions and  papers  showing  the  infamous  com- 
merce carried  by  said  Guard,  as  well  as  the  other 
advanced  Barrack  of  the  Colony  by  order  of  the 
Director  of  Esquivo  and  in  his  interest,  thus  bleed- 
ing to  the  heart  the  center  of  our  Province  of  Guay- 
ana. Part  No.  2  justifies  the  details  of  this  march, 
and  shows  that  there  was  no  other  blood  shed  than 


Fol.  U 


lis 

tliat  (if  two  ol"  our  sdldicr.s,  one  who  was  kilk'i]  and 
llic  (itluT  Wounded. 
Let  tor.. I        G7.  Tliis  ijai't  '1  sliows  that  on  receipt  of  the  report 

t  111'  (in  a  y-  ^  ,   •        ■.  r-      •  i> 

aim  Com.  ]jy  tho  Prefect  of  the  ( "atahm  Capuclim  Missions  oi 
Test.  2.  Guayana,  Fr.  Benito  de  hi  Garriga,  to  the  Comman- 
Foiioi-it.  (-]yj.  f^^l  interim,  stating  that  the  Holhmders  were 
keeping  an  establishment  in  the  Island  of  Caramu- 
curo,  in  the  Ciiyuni  river,  where  they  had  a  corporal 
with  people  making  the  inhuman  commerce  in  In- 
dians, whom  they  enslaved  and  purchased  from  the 
Caribs  in  exchange  for  diygoods,  hatchets,  knives^ 
munitions  of  war  and  other  articles,  to  the  great 

« 

(h'triment  of  our  Missions  and  settlements  for  the 
advancement  of  our  holy  ftiith,  it   was  ordered  by 
said  Commander  ad  interiin,  who  was   at    the  time 
Fol.  9.  Don  Felix  Ferreras,  an   Ensign  of  Infantry,  on  the 

date  of  the  27th  of  Jnly,  1758,  that  under  the  writ- 
ten instructions  of  what  was  to  be  done  in  order  to 
ascertain  the  facts,  an  expedition  should  go,  under 
the  command  of  Don  Santiago  Bonalde  and  Don 
Luis  Lopez  de  la  Puente,  furnishing  them  with  the 
necessary  vessels,  stores,  ammunitions,  and  men. 

68.  And  after  having  acted  as  directed  by  said  in- 
structions, a  formal  investigation  was  instituted  be- 
fore the  Commander  of  Guayana,  Don  Juan  Arables, 
during  the  months  of  September  and  October  of  the 
said  year,  1758,  and  the  affidavits  received  tlien 
show,  that  the  heads  and  soldiers  who  serveil  in  the 
expedition  reached  said  island  of  Caramucuru  and 
found  there  only  one  hut  Avitli  one  Hollander  and  a 
negro,  whom  tiiey  apprehended,  and  another  Hol- 
lander wlioiii  tliey  took  on  the  road  ;  tliat  at  tlie 
time  when  they  advanced  on  the  hut  they  heard  four 
or  five  shots,  without  knowing  who  lii-ed  them,  that 
a  soldier  was  killed  and  aiiotlier  was  wounded  :  that 
there  was  no  other  establishment  in  that  place; 
that  tlie  Hollander  said  that  he  was  there  placed  by 
the  Governor  of  Esquivo,  l»ut  did  not  say  lor  what 


119 

purpose  ;  that  some  papers  were  taken  from  him  ; 
that  they  fonnd  one  musket,  two  pistols  unloaded, 
and  no  more  arms ;  that  said  Hollander  denied 
firing,  saying  that  perhaps  it  was  the  negro ;  that  the 
other  articles  found  were  twelve  dozen  knives,  seven 
hatchets,  three  short  broad  swords,  five  muskets, 
tliree  pistols,  several  remnants  of  dry  goods,  all  of 
which  were  distributed  among  the  Caribs  who  had 
accompanied  and  guided  them. 

69.  And  from  the  corresponding  confessions  taken    foi.jsi-io. 
from  the  two  Hollanders  imprisoned,  it  appears  that 

after  giving  their  names  and  2:)rofessions,  they  stated 
that  said  hut  was  a  Guard  established  there,  during 
the  last  few  years  by  the  Governor  of  Esquivo,  so  as 
to  prevent  the  desertion  of  the  Esquivo  colony  slaves 
and  avoid  any  assault  from  the  Caribs  against 
the  Esquivos  or  neighboring  Spanish  friends,  that 
they  had  no  other  purpose,  as  it  was  shown  by  chapter 
five  of  the  instructions  they  liad  ;  that  the  knives 
and  other  articles  found  with  them  were  intended 
for  the  purchase  of  victuals;  that  the  Spaniards 
killed  and  wounded  might  have  been  shot  by  the 
Spaniards  themselves,  as  they  could  not  shoot ;  that 
the  Guard  where  the}''  were  found  is  called  Cuiba, 
near  the  banks  of  the  Cuyuni  river ;  that  they  had 
made  no  purchase  of  Poytos  for  merchandise;  that 
the  distance  from  that  Guard  to  Esquivo  is  short ; 
that  he  did  not  know  whether  that  place  was  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  Esquivo,  but  that  said  Post  had 
been  kept  there  for  a  few  years;  tliat  the  land  was 
not  fit  for  farms,  as  it  was  marshy. 

70.  That  the  papers  were  added  to  the  proceed- 
ings and  were  the  same  found  with  the  Hollander, 
containing  a  list  of  the  articles  and   ammunitions      foIs.  43-45. 
found  at  the  hut  or  Post,  the  instructions  given  to      foIs.  40-43. 
the  Corporal  by  the  Governor  of  Esquivo,  in  which 

he  was  directed  to  consider  the  same  as  an  ordinance 
for  the  Post  of  Cuyuni,  under  the  States-General, 


120 

and  rciidci-  liclji  to  tlic  Iii(li;iii<  wlicii  tiicy  wrre  at- 
tackcil  liy  wild  ti'ilics.  and  that  no  liai'iii  would  l)e 
<l(iiM' to  tin-  Spaniards  as  IVicnds,  Init  not  to  allow 
tlicin  to  cross  tjie  Cuj'UDi  river,  nor  permit  any  one 
of  tlifin  any  commerce  beyond  their  place  on  the 
river,  but  to  allow  the  Indians  to  carry  through 
tlieir  C'liinoso  slaves  or  any  other  niorcliandise,  so 
as  to  enable  tlieii'  purcha-e  by  the  i'^scpiivo  I'esi- 
dents;  great  eare  was  enjoineil  in  seeuring  all  fugi- 
tive slaves  and  helping  their  masters  to  recover 
them,  paying  ten  florins  for  each  one.  collected  as  due, 
according  to  the  accounts  of  the  previous  ^Master  of 
the  Post ;  that  every  year  a  statement  was  to  be  for- 
warded twice  to  tlie  Govei'nor  of  Esqnivo.  Witli  a 
Koi.n.  testimony  of  these  proceedings  the  Commander  of 
Ciuayana  sent  the  two  imprisoned  Hollanders  to  the 
Governor  and  Captain  (Jeiieral  of  that  Province. 
71.  And  finding  nothing  else  in  the  alxtve  men- 
Letter  of  tioned  testimony  No.  2,  said  Connnander  of  Guayana 
nmncicr^"oi-    Continued   his  statement  as  follows:  That  the  Post 

Guayana.  jii/<  i  -1,1  i  .i,  , 

that  (xravesand  said  to  have  been  seized  by  the 
S}»aniards  near  a  rivulet  towards  the  .south  of  the 
Guayne  river,  between  this  and  Tovaron,  where  it 
was  su])po.sed  that  tlie  Company  had  had  from  time 
immemorial  a  place  of  commerce  and  a  Post  dej)en(b 
ing  without  contradiction  from  the  territory  of  the 
republic,  the  exponent  .supi)oses  that  it  may  be  the 
one  that  tlie  intruded  Hollanders  abandoned  at  the 
Barima  river  in  tlie  year  17(38,  when  tluy  ascer- 
tained through  the  Caribs,  their  friends,  that  our 
launches  as  corsairs  Avere  ready  to  go  around  and 
seai'ch  those  rivers  emptying  into  the  ()rinoco  as 
well  as  the  Barima,  the  importance  of  whi<'h  thev 
trieil  1(1  diminish,  calling  it  a  rivulet:  that  he  did 
not  dare  to  call  by  name  the  Director  of  Esquivo 
and  .style  him  a  usurj)er.  who  made  himself  .so  poor 
of  memory  as  to  call  immemorial  an  establishment 
hardly  two  years  old,  as  it  is  shown  by  the  jDart  No.  3. 


Fol.  4. 


121 

72.  From  tliis  part  it  aj^pears  that  tlie  Commander  Letter  p. 
of  (niayana  was  informed  that  several  Dutch  fami-  >"o-6- 
lies  had  settled  at  the  Barima  creek  within  our  Test.  3. 
jurisdiction  near  the  large  mouth  of  the  Orinoco;  FoI.  is. 
that  he  sent  a  Captain  with  a  launch  and  the  cor- 
responding crew,  with  directions  to  notify  said 
families  once,  twice,  and  three  times  to  remove 
their  settlements  from  there,  as  that  place  did  not 
belong  to  nor  was  within  the  territory  of  the  States 
General,  but  was  under  Spain  ;  that  the  Captain,  in 
compliance  with  his  commission,  went  and  came 
back  from  that  place,  bringing  several  articles  from 
tlie  houses  left  by  the  families;  that  said  articles 
^vere  enumerated  in  a  regular  list  and  a])prised  and 
sold  at  auction  after  being  proclaimed,  and  the  pro- 
ceeds distributed  according  to  the  Royal  regulations ; 
that  said  Captain  and  three  of  the  persons  of  the 
crew  made  their  affidavits,  showing  that  after  the 
receipt  by  the  Commander  General  of  Guayana  of  a 
report  that  at  the  aforesaid  creek  of  Barima  close  to 
tlie  large  mouth  of  the  Orinoco  river,  where  it 
empties,  some  Dutch  families  had  settled,  they  had 
been  sent,  said  Captain  and  crew,  with  instructions 
to  notify  them  one,  two,  and  three  times  to  leave 
that  territory  that  was  annexed  to  the  Province  of 
Guayana;  that  the  exj)onents  left  for  their  destina- 
tion, at  the  creek,  and  having  reached  its  mouth 
saw  there  several  Indians  of  the  Carib  tribe,  and 
that  these  spread  the  news  of  their  approach  before 
reaching  the  establishments  and  farms  of  said 
strangers,  who  ran  away,  allowing  no  time  for  any 
notification  ;  that  the  houses  were  found  abandoned, 
and  the  effects,  iron  implements,  and  utensils  found 
in  them  were  taken  under  an  inventory  and  shipped 
on  board  of  their  two  vessels;  that  they  afterwards 
set  fire  to  the  houses  so  as  to  prevent  their  re-estab- 
lishment, and  destroyed  as  far  as  possible  the  farms 
around. 


122 


L  e  t  t  I  r  7Q 

•  lo  111  t  h  t 
( 'i)liiiii:ui(li'i 
or  ttuayjiiia. 


I-'c.l.  1. 


73.  ( 'oiitiiiuiiiu'  liis  icjircsfiitatidiis,  said  Coin 
niamlcr  ()i"(/Jiiayana  sliowcil  that  the  S})aiiiaiil>  hail 
lU'ViT  (li.s])iit(Ml  tlicn  or  at  any  time  with  the  Dutch 
about  fisliinu'  at  the  mouths  of  tlie  r)rinoco,  because 
they  (the  J)uteh)  had  never  chiimed  the  right  to  fish 
there:  that  (hiring  the  three  years  ehipsed  since  tlie 
time  when  he  commenced  to  emj>h>y  armed  hiunches 
as  corsairs  in  this  rive  r  twenty-three  foreign  vessels 
had  been  seized,  l»ut  none  of  them  were  em})li)yed 
in  fishing;  that  they  had  not  seen  or  even  heard 
any  report  of  the  possession  bj'  the  Hollanders  of 
the  fi>liing  rights  as  it  appeared  by  the  \>;\v{  No.  1, 
as  already  mentioned  ;  that  he  had  found  only  an 
instance  of  a  seizure  by  S])aniards  in  the  year  17G0 
of  a  small  schooner  and  two  Dutch  fishing  launches 
at  the  mouth  of  the<)riiioco  and  IJarinia  river,  as 
it  a])pears  l>y  the  part  No.  4;  that  he  was  of  the 
ojiinion  that  they  ought  to  be  prevented  from  fish- 
ing there,  as  said  fishing  might  degenerate  into  an 
illicit  trade,  difficult  to  stop  and  too  injurious  to  the 
Spanish  Provinces. 
yQ,'_  74.  It  a})])ears  by  said    ])art  No.  4  that  the  Com- 

mander of  ( luayana,  alter  having  received  intelli- 
gence that  a  few  Hollanders  near  Barima  were 
carrying  on  the  inluiman  and  illicit  commerce  of 
purchasing  Indians  in  trade  for  merchandise  fiom 
tlie  Caribs,  issued  his  order  of  the  7th  of  Se[)tember, 
1760,  instructing  the  Lieutenant  of  Infantry,  Don 
Juan  de  Dios  y  Flores,  to  prevent  said  traffic;  that 
said  lieutenant  left,  but  did  not  reach  the  place  of 
his  destination,  on  account  of  having  seized,  on  his 
way,  a  schooner  and  two  Dutch  launches  that  came 
to  Orinoco  for  the  purpose  of  fishing;  that  he 
brought  saifl  vessels  to  tlie  ]>ort  of  Santo  Thome  of 
Guayaiia,  whi-re  they  were  visited  as  })rizes  and  an 
inventory  made;  that  a  local  investigation  was  in- 
stituted, by  which  it  apj)ears  that  said  lieutenant 
and  his  crew  seized  the  above-mentioned  vessels,  on 


Test  4. 


123 


aecount  of  their  being  employed  in  fishing  at  tlic  Ori- 
noco ;  that  three  men  of  their  crew  fled  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  mustee  and  a  few  Arauca  Indians  ; 
that  the  reason  for  not  having  reached  the  place  of 
destination  was  on  account  of  being  short  of  hands, 
and  that  it  was  natural  to  suppose  that  the  Hol- 
landers, whom  they  were  after,  had  received  news 
of  their  approach  and  left ;  that  it  was  shown  by  the 
confessions  of  the  persons  arrested  in  the  vessels 
seized  ;  that  the  vessels  were  Dutch,  on  their  way  to 
fish  in  the  Orinoco;  that  there  were  several  Hol- 
landers at  Barima  purchasing  Poytos ;  that  the  Com- 
mander ordered  the  arrest  of  the  mustee,  and  the 
otlier  Indians  to  be  sent  to  the  Missions  ;  that,  by 
direction  of  the  Commander  General  of  Cumana,  the 
other  parties  were  apprized  with  their  appurtenances 
and  sold  at  public  auction,  distributing  all  the  pro- 
ceeds, according  to  the  Royal  regulations. 

75.  The  Commander  continued  his  exposition, 
stating  that  in  Orinoco  only  were  retained,  out  of 
the  Esquivo  slave  deserters,  those  who  were  Indians, 
and  of  the  negroes,  only  those  who  came  to  enjoy 
the  benefit  of  becoming  Catholics,  as  it  appears  b}'' 
the  part  No.  5,  as  that  was  the  rule  of  His  Majesty. 

76.  This  testimony  shows  that  the  Commander  of 
Guayana  had  referred  to  the  Captain  General  of  the 
Province  of  Cumana  with  the  corresponding  testi- 
mony, the  case  of  a  negro  who  came  over  to  our 
dominions  from  the  Dutch,  in  order  to  become  a 
Christian,  asking  for  instructions  for  the  guidance 
of  said  Commander,  who  received  an  an&wer,  dated 
September  12,  1761,  directing  him,  according  to  the 
orders  from  His  Majest}'  found  in  his  office,  to  in- 
stitute an  investigation  as  to  the  proof  of  the  escape, 
and  whether  it  was  really  effected  with  the  purpose 
of  becoming  a  Christian,  and  if  so,  to  take  him 
under  the  Royal  protection  and  deliver  him  to  the 
Pastor,  so  as  to  be  instructed  in  the  mysteries  of  our 


Fol.  IS— 21. 


Folio  21 . 


Fols.    24-28. 
Fol.  28—34. 


Fol.  34—41. 

Letter 
from  the 
Commander 
of  Guayana. 

Fol.  5. 


No.  6. 

Test.  5. 
Fol.  5. 


Ijettcr  of 
till'  (Tiiay- 
ana  Coin- 
uiaiuler. 

Fol.  5. 


I'ailli,  l):i|iti/,eil,  ami  let  tVc(\  ;uh'isiii^  him  Id  lca<l  a 
(juic't  aii<l  < 'liristiaii  lite;  that  the  same  inctlioil  was 
to  he  ohserveil  with  every  other  I'ugitivc  shivr  from 
tlie  foreign  ( 'olony.  reacliino-  Guayana  in  (lucst  of 
hajitism  ami  a  ('hristiaii  lift'  umlri'thc  jtroteetioii  of 
His  Maje.>^ty  in  ili>  ('atholic  dominions. 
Fois.  s-i(i.  77.   The  sanu'  part  •">  shows  that  said   r'ommandei" 

aeted  a(.-('oi'dint;ly  in  rcL^ard  to   six    Indians  who  es- 
caped from  Esquivo  in  order  to  hccoine  Christians. 

7.S.  Said  Connnandci- following  his  statement  con- 
tinued in  reference  to  other  neg'ro  slaves,  who,  on 
aecoimt  of  ill  treatment  or  other  reasons,  had  de- 
serted and  arrived  from  Esquivo,  and  who  had  heen 
returned  to  their  masters  whenever  claimed,  or  their 
value  paid  in  sih'er  to  them,  when  they  hail  a^'reed 
to  ha\-e  them  sold,  as  it  was  shown  hy  pait  No.  <> 
and  other  acts  of  the  kind  existing;-  in  the  lloyal 
Archives. 
Lt'tfe'i-p.  7*.'.   l"'rom  the  above  part  (or  proceedings)  it  ap- 

Xo.6.  pears    that   in   September,    175i),    Captain    Andres 

Test.  6.         Schut,  a  neighbor  of  Esqnivo,  came  to  Guayana  and 
Fuis.  i-is,      presented    his  passport    Irom    the   Governor   of   the 
Colony  to  claim  certain  negroes  who  had  run  away; 
the   same   were  sold  and   the  price  ])aid  to  him,  as 
F.iis    i|shownhy   his    rect'ipt.  signed    at    (iuayana.     It   ap- 
'"""  '■""-''•      pears,  likewise,  that  in  the  year  17o(»,  with  the  same 
kind  of  j)assi)ort,  the  Militia  Captain   Salomon  Pe- 
rico,  of  Esquivo,  came  to  Guayana,  claiming  tv.'o 
negroes  :  that  the  same  liad  been  sold,  and  the  price 
Fol. •_>.-).         deposited  in   the  Tvoyal   Treasury,  was  paid  to  said 
Fois.  is  to     IN'rico.  who  gave  his   recei})t.      It   appears,  likewise, 
that  in  t he  year  ]7o4,  Juan  Pedro  Thoman,  an  At- 
t(jrney  of  the  Esipiivo  Company,  came  to  (xuayana 
to  claim  four  negroes  owned  l)y  the  Company,  who 
had  e-caped.  and  as  they  had  been  sold    before  and 
their  [)rice  deposited  in  the  lioyal   Treasury,  he  re- 
Foi.  3().         ceived  it  and  acknowledged  receipt  indue  form.    It 
Foi.:?7-ii.     appears,  likewise,   tliat    in    the   year   176G,  Nicolas 


Guayana. 
Fol.  5. 


125 

Roujelet  de  Lasarie,  police  counsellor  of  justice  and 
Secretary  of  the  Es(iuivo  Colony,  came  to  Guayana 
to  claim  thirteen  young  negroes;  he  sold  tliem,  re- 
ceived their  [)rice,  and  gave  his  receipt  to  the  pur- 
chaser, who  a{)peared  to  have  been  Don  Juan  C'laudio 
Romero,  a  resident  of  the  Province  of  Cum  ana. 

80.  It  ap})ears  likewise  th;it  after  due  observance    Testimony 
of  the  regulations  four  slaves  from  Esquivo,  who  had    j^'os.  (jand  7. 
run  away  and  arrived  at  Guayana,  had  been  sold    foi.  lo. 
and  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  deposited  in  the  Royal 
Treasury,  after  the  deduction  of  dues  and  expenses, 

so  as  to  be  kept  subject  to  the  claim  of  their  lawful 
masters. 

81.  Said  Governor  of  Guayana  continued,  stating  Letter  of 
that  it  was  to  be  observed  that  snice  the  Governor  mancier  of 
of  Esquivo  had  appropriated  to  himself  the  two 
negroes  called  Ambrosio  and  Francisco,  slaves  of 
Don  Tomas  Franquis  and  Augustina  de  Arocha, 
residents  of  Guayana,  who  ran  away  from  that  city 
to  the  Colony,  where  they  were  sold  on  his  account 
and  profit  of  said  Lorenzo  van  Gravesand,  as  it 
appears  in  part  No.  1  (already  mentioned),  and  it 
seemed  as  if  he  had  been  satisfied  with  this  re- 
prisal, as  he  had  not  claimed  formally  the  slaves 
who  luid  run  away  from  Esquivo  to  Guayana  since 
that  time,  nor  even  tried  to  recover  seven  hundred 
and  sixty-two  dollars,  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  five 
fugitive  slaA'es  from  Esquivo,  placed  and  kept  as  a 
deposit  in  the  Royal  Treasuiy,  subject  to  the  claim 
of  the  interested  party,  as  directed  by  Don  ^latlieo 
Gual  and  Don  Josef  Diguja,  Governors  of  Cumana, 
as  it  appears  in  part  Xo.  7.  That,  indeed,  Don 
Nicolas  de  la  Lasarie,  Secretary  of  the  Colony  of  Es- 
quivo, came,  and  on  the  8th  of  September,  176(5,  gave 
h'is  power  of  Attorney  to  Don  A'ivente  Franco,  a  resi- 
dent of  Guayana,  to  claim  the  proceeds  and  consent 
to  the  sale  of  thirty-eight  negro  slaves  who  in  those 
years  had  deserted  from  the  Colony  to  the  said  Pro- 


■Test.  No.  (i, 
Fol.  37. 


Test.  No. 

Knl.  1. 


12G 

viiiee,  the  [)roeee(ling.s  wri-e  still  pi'inliuLi;,  <»ii  account 
of  the  death  of  Lasarie  and  tlie  expiration  of  his 
power  of  Attorney  to  Franco;  the  ,sucees.s(»r.s  of 
Lasarie  havino  put  no  api)earance,  supj)osino-  that 
we  might  take  the  prit'c  of  their  negroes,  as  the 
Director  of  Esquivo  ilid  with  the  price  of  those  of 
Franquis  and  Arocha,  runaways  from  Guayana ; 
that  the  proceeds  of  the  2'.»  .slaves,  as  well  as  the 
8702  before,  were  u.sed  in  the  payment  of  the  sol- 
diers of  the  troop  organized  l)y  the  predecessor  of 
the  ex])onent,  Don  .htaipiin  ^^()reno,  who  li;id  not 
been  paid  yet  for  his  dues  from  the  year  17(34  to 
1768,  and  that  it  was  necessary  now  tliat  liis  Majesty 
^voul(l  see  iiow  to  satisfy  the  interested  parties  in  re- 
gard to  the  chiiirx  now  nndertaken  by  the  Mini.ster 
of  IIolLand. 

82.  From  j)art  No.  G  it  ap[)ears  that  Xicohis  Las- 
arie not  only  sold  the  thirteen  young  negroes  al- 
ready mentioned,  but  he  intended  to  claim  besides 
a])out  thirty-odd  runaway  negroes  from  the  Esquivo 
Colony.  It  appears  likewise  by  a  certificate  signed 
by  Don  Andres  de  Oleaga,  Koyal  Officer  Accompt- 
ant,  of  tiie  City  of  (Juayana,  dated  the  -Ith  of  Ai)ril, 
1770,  that  in  the  branch  of  foreign  deposits  an  item 
of  G,OUG  reals,  14  and  J  maravedis  was  entered, 
as  tlie  pi-ico  of  a  negro  woman  with  her  ciiildren 
and  four  more  negro  runaways  from  the  Dutch 
Colony  sold  at  auction  by  the  Government  for  the 
benefit  of  their  owners.  And  likewise  he  certi- 
fied that  in  reganl  to  the  thirty-eiglit  male  and 
female  slaves,  arrived  at  (inayana  from  said  ( 'olony 
since  17GG  up  to  the  middle  of  17G7,  similai-  steps 
had  been  taken  at  the  recjuest  ot  Don  A^icente 
Franco,  as  Attorney  of  Don  Nicolas  Kosolet  de  Las- 
arie, Police  Secretary  of  said  Colony,  the  proceeds 
to  be  dei^osited  in  the  Royal  Treasury  (deducting 
Royal  dues  and  costs  in  favor  of  their  ITonors,  as 
.<hown   by  the  proceedings  still    pending),  the  same 


127 

to  be  done  in  regard  to  the  apprizement  and  sale  of 
twenty-nine  of  said  negroes  for  S,-i'^0  pesos,  the  re- 
maining nine  slaves  not  having  been  sold  for  want 
of  purchasers,  and  were  applied  to  the  works  of  His 
Majesty  in  that  fortress.  And  finally  he  stated,  in 
regard  to  said  amount  of  one  and  the  other  deposit, 
with  others  existing  at  the  Royal  Treasury  at  that 
time,  that  they  were  used  to  support  the  troops  of 
the  New  Company  of  the  Orinoco  up  to  the  last 
year  of  1767,  when  nothing  had  been  received  from 
the  corresponding  central  offices  of  payment  until 
1708. 

S3.  And  in  this  same  testimony  the  proceedings    foIs.s-o. 
are  found  in  regard  to  the  sale  of  the  negroes  above 
mentioned. 

84.  Tlie  Commander  of  Guayana  further  stated,  ^  ^^f  *^T^,,;^.^ 
that  in  regard  to  any  Spaniards  having  induced  the  ';*, ".'^'Kier "" " 
Esquivo  slaves  to  run  away,  there  was  no  probability    foi_  q. 

of  its  being  so,  as  it  was  not  credible  there  should  be 
any  person  to  take  such  a  perilous  risk  without  any 
other  inducement  than  that  of  doing  good  to  the 
negroes ;  that  Gravesand  did  not  give  any  persons, 
name,  or  instance,  spoke  only  in  general  terms  that 
did  not  prove  anything  against  what  appeared  evi- 
dent by  the  proceedings  on  this  matter  contained 
in  part  No.  1,  and  the  erection  of  strongholds,  near 
tiie  territory  of  the  republic,  the  attacks  on  the  Bar- 
racks of  the  Company,  and  the  killing  of  the  guard, 
as  claimed  by  the  Deputies  in  their  representation. 

85.  That  in  the  Royal  order  his  report  was  wanted 
on  the  matter,  for  the  notice  of  his  Majesty,  and  he 
had  to  observe  that  in  all  countries  the  sea  coasts 
were  most  precious,  as  wdthout  them  the  productions 
inland  were  useless  for  the  countries  beyond  the 
sea  ;  that  in  the  vast  Province  of  Guayana,  so  fertile 
and  advantageously  situated,  all  the  coasts  were  oc- 
cupied by  strangers,  remaining  only  to  the  Span- 
iards, on  one  extremity,  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco  as 


128 

a  sea  port ;  tliat  the  Hollanders  possessed  those  parts 
of  the  coast  of  most  importance  to  that  vast  country, 
liavin<i;  many  navigable  rivers  running  from  the 
iniicniiost  and  most  profitahlc  i»art  of  (iuayana; 
that  it  was  therefore  advisable  to  destroy  the  Dutch 
Colony,  beginning  at  p]squivo  and  following  to 
Demerari,  JJerbis,  Corentin  up  Id  Surinam  :  tliat  the 
exponent  thcaight  of  two  pr()]»cf  ways,  the  first  to 
receive,  protect,  and  set  free  all  the  fugitive  slaves 
from  said  Colonies,  as  it  was  the  practice  at  Caracas 
with  those  from  Curacao,  who  did  not  want  so  mucli 
protection  for  the  free  use  of  the  Catholic  religion  as 
those  of  the  colonies  did,  where  no  importance  was 
given  to  the  subject,  and  tlR'ir  slaves  were  left  to  live 
as  gentiles;  that  the  second  way  to  accom[)lish  such 
an  end  was  to  kee]>  in  said  Province  a  standing  ]»at- 
taliou  of  Infantry  to  watch  and  verify  the  frontiers 
and  rivers  emptying  into  the  Esquivo,  the  building 
of  strongholds  that  even  when  j)rojected  had  fright- 
ened the  Hollanders,  thus  j)reventing  and  eud)ar- 
rassing  the  usurpation  of  more  territory  than  what 
they  are  holding  and  their  considerable  trade  in 
Indian  Poytos  or  slaves,  through  which  our  lands 
are  deserted  and  theii's  [)o[)ulate(l  and  prodigiously 
cultivated  ;  that  facilities  should  be  given  the 
Indians  they  have  enslaved  to  escape,  and  they 
would  not  be  encouraged  to  pay  much  higher  prices 
for  negroes  for  fear  of  losing  them;  that  the  loss  of 
both  kinds  of  slaves  will  cripple  the  Dutch  colonies 
and  their  operatives  will  come  to  us,  considering 
that  we  are  strong  and  lormidalde. 

That  this  increase  of  troops  could  not  be  exces- 
sively expensive,  considering  the  necessity  of  popu- 
lation and  tlu'  defence  of  that  country;  that  both 
requirements  called  for  large  disbursements,  but 
nothing  could  be  more  beui'ticial  than  those  coming 
from  the  soldier,  whosi;  money  attracted  laliorers 
and  every  kind  of  mechanics  to  the  country,  that 
the  latter  as  well  as  the  former  would  take  Indian 


129 

wives,  and  this  kind  of  alliance  with  the  Indians 
would  facilitate  their  civilization  and  a  prompt  and 
less  expensive  population  of  those  wild  countries.  A 
soldier,  young  and  single,  is  more  easily  mustered 
and  conveyed  to  those  Provinces  than  a  whole  fam- 
ily ;  that  his  experience  in  the  matter  showed  that 
it  w'as  of  more  advantage  and  preferable,  as  it  had 
been  done  at  the  island  of  Santo  Domingo  and  other 
Provinces  of  America,  carrying  whole  families  of 
Canarians,  and  from  other  parts,  under  condition  of 
paying  for  their  transportation  and  providing  tliem 
with  the  necessary  utensils,  and  their  maintenance 
for  one  year  at  least ;  that  among  the  fortresses 
above  mentioned,  one  ought  to  be  at  the  point  of 
Barima,  at  the  windward  of  the  mouth  of  Navios,  in 
a  northerly  direction,  with  a  high  wooden  house  of 
the  same  kind  of  the  balize  at  the  entrance  of  the 
Mississippi,  as  the  land  is  swampy  and  losv;  that 
from  said  establishment  we  would  be  enabled  to  keep 
a  close  watch  on  the  Hollanders  and  stop  them  in 
their  illicit  trade,  keeping  a  constant  lookout  at  the 
Barima  river,  the  chief  avenue  of  communication  be- 
tween the  Esequivo  Colony  and  the  Orinoco  ;  that  this 
kind  of  balize  is  necessary  for  our  vessels  to  ascertain 
the  position  of  the  large  mouth  of  the  Orinoco  river, 
concealed  from  the  sea  for  want  of  proper  marks, 
and  apt  to  mislead  in  the  way  of  reaching  it,  on  ac- 
count of  the  strong  currents  of  those  waters  to  the 
leeward  ;  that  the  navigators  can  not  well  avoid  the 
dangers  of  the  low  ground  on  that  coast,  outside  of 
the  channel  of  the  river,  without  ascertaining  the 
position  of  the  mouth  ;  by  holding  a  Post  at  Barima 
Point,  that  of  the  Hollanders  at  Moruca  would  be- 
come useless,  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  the 
escape  of  their  Indian  Poytos  or  other  slaves,  arrest- 
ing^their  pursuers,  w'ho  sometimes  were  bound  to 
come  as  far  as  the  Orinoco,  when  they  knew  that 
the  Spaniards  were  at  49  leagues  from  the  mouth. 
86.  That  the  methods  he   had  proposed  or  any 

Vol.  II,  Vex.— 9. 


130 

others  I'iniiloycil  for  tlu'  iiur|tose  ol"  increasing  the 
popiihition,  ojinU'iice  and  strength  of  the  I'rovinee, 
couhl  not  be  u'^eless  if  correctly  carried  out,  as  might 
be  observed  by  tliei)art  No.  8,  where  the  opportunity 
of  the  present  time  was  shown  to  attain  that  object, 
within  n  few  years  after  the  failure  of  over  two  cen- 
turies, 
i.cticri".  ST.  This   part,  No.  8,  is  confined   to  a   certificate 

No  i.  given  at  the  city  of  San  Thome,  of  (Juaynna,  on  the 

Tost.  8.  20tli  of  September,  17GU,  by  Don  Juan  Josef  Canales, 
FoiP.  I-',  j^i^  Ecclesiastical  Rector,  Vicar,  and  Judge  of  that 
city;  Don  Andres  Oleaga,  Royal  Accomptant  of 
the  .same;  Don  Josef  Bosse,  Cajjtain  of  Infantiy 
and  Sergeant  Major  of  the  Orinoco  troojis;  Don 
Juan  Antoni(_»  Honnlde,  (Ja])tain  of  Infantr}^  of  the 
same  troop ;  Don  Nicolas  Martinez,  Lieutenant  Com- 
mander of  Artillery  ;  Don  Antonio  Barreto,  Lieuten- 
ant of  Infantry  and  Chief  Adjutant  of  the  same; 
and  tlie  resident  officers  and  civilians.  Captain  Don 
Vicente  Franco,  Captain  Don  Diego  Ignacio  Mariiio, 
Lieutenant  Don  Ju.m  de  Je^ns  Miers,  Don  Joa((uin 
dt'  Mieres,  Don  Cayetano  Filgueyra  y  Barci.i,  and 
Captain  Calixto  dc  Le^ania.  It  appears  by  the  cer- 
tificates of  all  tile  aijove  persons  that  Don  Maiuiel 
Centurion  (Juenero  de  Torres,  Royal  Captain  of  the 
Artillei'v  ( 'orp<,  and  ( lenei'nl  Coniinnndei'of  Guayana 
and  all  the  settlement-  of  the  upper  and  lowcn"  Oii- 
noco  and  Rio  Negio,  had  endeavored  and  was  en- 
deavoring, with  the  utmost  diligence  and  constance, 
to  secure  the  advancement  and  welfare  of  tiiat  Piov: 
ince  and  their  neighbors,  and  that  iu^  foitified  and 
put  in  a  state  of  defence  the  mountain  of  I'adrastro, 
of  thi'  Castle  of  San  Francisco  de  Asis,  tlie  bulwark 
and  safety  of  that  Province  ;  that  for  the  same  ])ur- 
pose  he  had  transferred  the  four  settlements  called 
Piacoa,  Ti})uma,  N'iacoa,  and  Unata,  and  removed 
them  from  the  proximity  of  the  fortress  to  other 
places,  where  an  enemy  (intending  an  attack  to  the 


131 

Province)  could  not  make  use  of  them ;  that  he 
armeil  and  built  two  launches  as  corsairs,  to  prevent 
the  entrance  of  foreigners  and  traders  carrying  on 
any  illicit  commerce  with  the  Orinoco,  and  perse- 
cuting and  seizing  their  vessels  on  the  sea  coasts  of 
Paria,  Trinidad,  and  Gulfo  Triste ;  that  he  dis- 
lodged, likewise,  from  the  Barima  river  the  usurp- 
ing Hollanders,  who  had  settled  on  its  margins,  in 
alliance  with  over  eight  thousand  Carib  Indians, 
natives  of  that  territory  ;  that  he  built  in  Guayaua  a 
powder  magazine,  provisional  quarters  for  the  troops, 
and  a  good  hospital  for  the  sick,  as  well  as  lodgings 
for  the  laborers  of  the  fortress. 

That  he  had  erected  a  small  fort  furnished  with 
artillery,  served  by  eight  soldiers,  for  the  detence  of  a 
new  Indian  settlement  at  the  Caura  river,  the  theatre 
of  the  inhuman  war  kept  up  by  the  Caribs  in  order 
to  carry  out  their  infamous  traffic  in  Poyto  Indian 
slaves,  whom  they  sold  to  the  Esquivo  Hollanders; 
that  he  had  likewise  explored  the  large  cocoa  fields 
of  the  upper  Orinoco,  and  that  in  order  to  improve 
the  culture  and  commerce  of  said  products  he  had 
undertaken  the  civilization  and  settlement  of  the 
savage  Indians  of  those  territories, -supporting  and 
keeping  there  a  Captain  settler  and  some  Andalusian 
Capuchin  Missionaries,  with  an  officer  and  military 
escort,  taking  them  to  Rio  Negro,  where  they  had 
settled  new  towns  and  the  Missions  of  La  Esmeralda,. 
San  Philipe,  San  Francisco  Solano,  and  Santa  Bar- 
bara, and  supported  those  of  San  Carlos  and  May- 
pures,  founded  by  the  boundary  expedition  ;  that  he 
had  likewise  trained,  disciplined,  and  dressed  in 
uniforms  all  the  troops  of  that  Province,  which  had 
been  found  in  a  wretched  conditon  of  neglect  and 
nudity  for  want  of  economy  on  the  part  of  the  Di- 
rectors ;  that  he  had  gathered  and  brought  to  the 
settlement  of  Pan  de  Azucar,  the  dispersed  Indians, 
fugitives  from  the  Mission  of  Cabruta,  and  those  of 


132 

the  J'rovince  of  Barccloiui  in  the  new  scttloiiU'iits  of 
Tajaquirc,  and  Corro  del  Mono  ;  that  lie  luul  founded 
tlie  three  new  Missions  of  Panapana,  and  Mamanta, 
and  Orocopichc,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Uuayana, 
at  a  distance  of  two  or  three  leagues  from  its  com- 
merce and  support ;  that  he  had  commenced  and 
was  carrying  on  with  the  greatest  activity  the  erec- 
tion of  a  magnificent  church  in  Guayana,  on  a  model 
architecture  sucli  as  few  could  be  found  in  America. 
That  he  had  founded  a  town,  under  the  nanie  of 
Bourbon,  with  Sjjanish  families,  from  the  Pi'ovineeof 
New  Barcelona,  without  taxing  the  King  tor  rations 
'  for  their  maintenance  during  the  first  year,  nor  any 
other  ex|)enses,  as  it  has  lieen  the  case  with  other 
populations  in  former  times;  that  he  erected  in  the 
interior  of  that  Province,  at  the  Paragua  river,  a 
small  fort  furnished  with  artillery  and  troops  for 
the  defence  of  the  place,  and  to  prevent  the  Hollan- 
ders from  taking  away  the  Poytos  they  used  to  seize 
on  the  margin  of  the  Orinoco,  for  the  service  of 
their  Colonics  on  the  Atlantic  coast  of  that  conti- 
nent;  that  he  had  increased  and  improved  that  city 
with  over  sixty  houses  with  tiled  roofs  and  common 
walls,  and  the  corresponding  families  brought  from 
the  neighboring  Provinces  to  inhal)it  them,  and  en- 
joying conveniences  which  they  did  not  possess  at 
home  or  found  among  the  inhabitants  of  Guayana  ; 
that  the  settlement  of  cattle  ranches  and  towns  set- 
tled l)y  Spaniards  on  the  up})er  Orinoco  by  order  of 
His  Majest}',  and  in  all  the  new  establishments  and 
communities  of  Missionaries  supported  by  the  Com- 
mander General,  the  true  /.eal  of  the  same  was 
manifested,  as  well  as  the  economical  conduct  of  his 
government,  and  the  generous  disinterestedness  he 
showed  in  his  end(^avors  Ibr  the  advancement  of  that 
Province,  as  well  as  the  benefits  to  be  derived  by  the 
Spanish  Crown  from  the  population,  advancement, 
and  safety  of  that  extensive  Province,  so  advantage- 


133 

ously  situated,  a.s  bein^  the  nearest  from  America 
to  Spain,  the  constant  trade  that  could  be  kept  with 
those  countries  even  in  time  of  war,  vvitliout  any 
fear  of  the  intercejition  of  their  vessels  by  cruisers 
or  corsairs  of  the  enemy,  as  there  was  no  obstacle 
or  any  fixed  place  to  wait  for  them  from  the  large 
mouth  of  the  Orinoco  to  the  Spanish  shores;  that 
the  parties  signing  this  certificate  consider  it  their 
duty  to  impassionately  confess  that  the  Orinoco  was 
the  only  near  and  sure  place  the  King  had  in 
America  in  time  of  war,  as  he  was  enabled  to  com- 
municate the  necessary  orders  to  those  dominions 
within  twenty  or  twenty-five  days  ;  that  they  ought  to 
state  the  fact  that  if  said  Commander  were  furnished 
with  the  necessary  means  according  to  his  diligence, 
activity,  intelligence  and  the  favorable  disposition 
of  many  persons  desiring  to  settle  in  the  neighbor- 
ing Provinces,  attracted  by  the  conveniences  and 
fertility  of  that  most  beautiful  and  extensive  Pro- 
vince, on  account  of  its  commerce  and  amenity,  it 
should  become  within  a  short  time  a  New  Spain  for 
the  State,  with  all  the  above  advantages,  that  will 
make  it  the  most  distinguished,  and  therefore  deserve 
the  first  attention  of  His  Majesty;  that  in  order  to 
appreciate  the  force  and  truth  of  the  foregoing  state- 
ment, it  ^vas  enough  to  see  the  benefits  derived  by 
strangers  from  the  French  (Jolony  of  Cayena,  and 
the  Hollanders  from  those  of  Surinam,  Bervis,  and 
Esquivo  on  the  eastern  coast  of  that  Province  ;  that 
it  should  be  observed  that  in  the  first  and  second 
one,  within  thirty  leagues  inland  (navigation  on 
the  river  of  their  names),  they  kept  in  continual 
trade  over  200  vessels  each  one,  and  a  few  less  ves- 
sels correspondingly  kept  by  the  third  and  last  of 
less  population  and  on  the  sea  coast  side;  that  if 
those  Colonies  yielded  such  valuable  commercial 
advantages  to  their  inhabitants  in  products,  within 
such    a  short   distance   inland,  the  Orinoco  trade 


134 

could   certainly  j)r(»ve  of  coiisi(leral)le  Miori'  benefit 
witli  all  the  advantages  of  a  more  extensive  field  in 
constant  circulation,  population,  and  general  estab- 
lishments. 
Letter  I'.  §§    Anotliftr  of  tliB  documciits  forwarded  as  re- 

No.  7.  served  matter,  marked  in  the  index  as  No.  7,  is  a  let- 
Letter  of  the  tor  by  Don  Pedro  Josef  de  Urrutia,  Governor  of 
from  cii-Cumana,  of  the  10th  of  Mav,  1770,  accom])niiicd  with 
supportnig  documents,  and  stating  tliat  on  tlie  oOtli 
of  March  of  that  year  he  had  acknowledged  the  re- 
ceipt of  the  Royal  order  of  the  2od  of  September, 
1769,  accompanied  with  a  paper  in  which  the  Afinis- 
ter  of  Holland  complains  of  the  conduct  of  the 
Spaniards  established  at  the  Orinoco  against  the 
Esquivo  Colony,  and  the  facts  of  its  contents,  and  he 
promised  to  address  the  required  report  with  justi- 
fying documents  of  what  should  be  fouml  out  in  re- 
gard to  the  case. 

89.  That,  in  com})liance,  he  re])orted  that  tiie  only 
facts  that  he  had  ascertained  to  exist  took  place  be- 
fore the  separation  from  the  Province  of  (Juayana 
from  the  (Jovernmcnt  of  Cumana,  and  were  brought 
about  l)y  the  same  Hollanders  of  the  Esquivo  Colony, 
close  to  the  Missions  of  the  Catalan  Capuchins  in  said 
Province;  that  in  the  year  1758,  the  Governor  ad 
infcrivi,  Don  Nicolas  de  Castro,  received  a  letter  from 
the  Prefect  of  said  Missions  informing  the  Com- 
mander of  that  fortress  of  the  serious  injury  and  the 
loss  of  lives  at  the  hands  of  the  Caribs  of  the  desert, 
influenced  by  the  Esquivo  Hollanders,  who  had  in- 
vaded the  region  of  Hauchica,  where  the  Guaica 
Indian  Mission  was  established  ;  that  fearing  greater 
ovils  to  the  surrounding  settlements,  he  a{)plied  for 
a  prompt  remedy,  giving  as  the  chief  cause  of  these 
troubles  the  constant  suggestions  of  the  Hollanders 
in  persuading  the  Caribs  not  to  belong  or  make  ])art 
of  the  Spanish  settlements,  thus  fostering  their  dis- 
like and  opposition  to  their  holy  work,  so  as  to  con- 
tinue  the   abominalde   trade    they    kept  with    the 


135 

Oaribs,  giving  them  dry  goods  nnd  iron  imple- 
ments in  exchange  for  Indian  Poytos  (wliich  means 
slaves  among  them),  the  same  Poytos  were  taken  by 
the  Carbis  as  prisoners  in  their  wars,  so  as  to  sell 
them  at  the  above-mentioned  Esquivo  Colony,  thus 
retarding  the  progress  of  the  Gospel  and  the  religious 
instruction  of  the  gentiles. 

That  said  HoHanders  trespassing  the  limits  of 
tlieir  Colony  were  taking  more  lands  for  the  purpose 
of  their  commerce  in  the  dominions  of  His  Majesty 
and  the  neighborhood  of  the  nearest  Missions,  a^^  it 
was  shown  by  the  fact  of  the  establishment  at  that 
place,  with  a  permit  from  Governor  Lorenzo  Storem 
Gi-ave.sand,  of  a  house  and  Guard  in  the  island 
called  Caramacuru  in  the  Cuyuni  river,  of  the  terri- 
tory of  the  Missions,  (that  the  Hollanders  call  in 
said  papers  Cayoeny  river);  because  this  place  had 
never  been  considered  a  part  of  the  Esquivo  Colony, 
as  it  is  shown  by  the  despatch  of  the  above  men- 
tioned Prefect ;  that  aware  of  all  these  circumstances, 
the  Commander  of  Guayana  sent  an  expeditionof 
troops  to  said  Cuyuni  river,  with  the  necessary  in- 
structions, so  as  to  dislodge  the  Hollanders  from 
that  place  and  seize  the  Indian  slaves  or  Poytos  and 
everything  else  they  kept;  that  it  was  so  carried 
out,  notwithstanding  the  resistance  of  the  Hollander 
who  commanded  in  that  Post  and  the  death  of  one 
of  the  Spaniards  and  Iserious  wound  of  another  of 
that  expedition  ;  that  on  this  subject  a  suitable  in- 
vestigation was  instituted  by  the  Commander  of  all 
the  facts  and  circumstances  of  the  occasion,  and 
were  forwarded,  with  the  two  Dutch  prisoners  ar- 
rested in  the  act  of  resistence,  to  the  Governor  ad  in- 
terim, Don  Nicolas  de  Castro,  who  took  the  advice  of 
a  learned  assessor  and  reported  the  case  accordingly, 
referring  the  proceedings  to  His  Majesty,  but  there 
is  no  evidence  of  what  became  of  the  said  Hollanders 
and  the  said  proceedings. 

90.  That  the  Governor  of  Esquivo,  having  at  this 


136 

tiait'  l»ecii  iiilbriiK'd  of  the  iiiiprisonnieiit  of  two 
Hollnndcrs  in  the  Cuyuni  river,  sent  a  despatch  to 
the  Commander  of  Guayana,  ehiiming  them,  and 
said  Commander,  without  returninij,  any  answer, 
submitted  said  despatch  to  the  Governor  ad  interim, 
Don  Nicolas  de  Castro,  wlio  answered  the  Governor 
of  Esquivo  what  will  he  found  in  the  testimony 
accompanied  to  his  representations. 

1)1.  From  this  testimony  appears  what  has  been 

Test. No.  1.    mentioned  before  in  testimony  No  2  and  No.  6,  and 
an  abstract  of  paragraphs  67,  68,  69  and  70.     It  is 

Fois.     i-Monlv  noticed,  in  addition  to  the  testimony  heretofore 

and  2:5-')().  '     .  i         /-,  i         '  />    /  . 

mentioned,  that  alter  the  Commander  oi  (xuayana 
sent  to  the  Governor  of  Cumana  the  proceedings  on 
the  subject,  and  the  two  Dutch  prisoners,  said  Gov- 
Foi.  w.  ernor,  by  act  of  September  28,  1758,  appointed  for 
his  assessor  the  Licenciate  Don  Julian  Padilla  Mo- 
ron, one  of  the  legal  advisers  of  the  Royal  Audience, 
in  order  to  re})ort  on  the  merits  and  importance  of 
the  case. 

02.  In  his  rt'port  ot  the  28th  of  December  of  the 
same  year,  he  advised  the  Governor  to  send  the 
original  proceedings  to  His  Majesty,  leaving  a  testi- 
mony of  the  same  in  that  city. 

93.  An  act  was  likewise  issued  by  the  Commander 
of  Guayana  on  the  30tli  of  September,  1758,  submit- 
ting to  the  Governor  of  Cumana  several  papers  re- 
ceiv(Ml  from  the  Govt  riior  of  Esquivo,  which  had 
been  translated  :  one  being  a  passport  brought  by 
the  bearer  of  despatches,  signed  by  the  Governor  of 
E.squivo,  and  the  other  a  paper  signed  by  Lorenzo 
Storem  de  Gravesand,  dated  the  30th  of  September, 
1758,  wliich  reads  as  follows: 

"Sir:  It  was  by  accident  tliat  I  was  told  l)y  In- 
dians that  our  Post,  his  second,  and  a  slave  of  the 
Comjiany  with  a  woman  and  her  children,  had  ])een 
carried  away  as  prisoners,  and  tlie  house  set  on  lii'e; 
1  could  not  give  credit  to  this  news;  it  seems  to  me 


Foi.r.i. 


fabulous  ;  the  case  is  impossible ;  I  did  not  wish  to 
take  the  least  step ;  but  afterwards  I  sent  people  to 
find  out  oecularly  the  facts.  The  people  return  and 
confirm  not  only  the  truth  of  the  fact,  but  that  the 
said  persons  are  actually  imprisoned  in  Guayana. 
What  must  I  imagine,  Sir,  about  this  high-handed 
conduct  in  direct  opposition  to  the  law  of  nations, 
to  the  treaties  of  peace,  and  to  the  alliance  existing 
so  happily  and  for  such  a  long  time  between  His 
Catholic  Majesty  and  the  High  Powers  of  the  States- 
General  of  the  United  Provinces?  How  is  it  possi- 
ble that  such  high-handed  and  violent  conduct  has 
taken  place  without  any  provocation  or  even  com- 
plaint? lam  fii'mly  persuaded  that  His  Catholic 
Majesty,  far  from  approving  such  an  offence,  will  do 
full  justice  to  my  sovereign  and  administer  an  ex- 
emplary punishment  to  those  who  have  abused  their 
authority. 

"  The  great  King  has  given  signal  proofs  of  his 
atfection  to  our  Republic  and  I  should  have  been 
content  to  send  a  representation  of  the  case  to  my 
Sovereigns,  leaving  to  their  prudence  the  claim  of  a 
suitable  satisfaction  :  but  the  place  which  I  have  the 
honor  to  fill,  binds  me  to  ask  in  their  names,  and 
request  in  writing  from  you.  Sir,  not  only  the  iree- 
dom  of  the  prisoners,  but  a  suitable  satisfaction  for 
such  violent  and  manifest  violation  of  the  treaties 
and  the  law  of  nations.  I  have  long  had  the  honor 
to  be  at  the  head  of  this  Colony,  and  I  have  been 
solicitous  to  retain  the  friendship  of  the  Spanish 
nation,  our  near  neighbor,  using  always  all  in  my 
power  to  prevent  the  Carib  Indians  from  doing 
them  any  harm.  If  those  implicated  in  this  affair 
have  taken  care  to  secure  the  papers  kept  at  the 
Post,  it  will  be  found  that  one  of  the  principal 
chapters  of  instructions  contains  a  positive  order 
not  to  give  the  least  cause  of  complaint  to  our 
Spanish  neighbors.     It  should  not  be  difficult  for 


13S 

iiU'  to  take  reprisals,  liaviiiir  the  same  in  my  owu 
liaiids;  but  I  find  no  I'eason  to  do  so  as  ojiposed  to 
the  duties  of  an  honorable  man,  when  as  a  Christian, 
I  ought  not  to  do  so  until  the  last  extremity,  when 
every  other  remedy  fails.  By  a  vessel  which  will 
depart  for  Europe  this  week,  I  give  my  Masters  an 
account  of  the  case.  I  entertain  no  doultt  tliat  they 
will  be  as  mu(*h  surprised  as  1  am  in  regard  to  this 
liigh-iiunded  offence,  and  will  not  delay  their  claim 
before  tlie  Court  of  His  Catholic  Majesty.  Thus, 
Sir,  in  the  name  of  the  High  Powers  of  my  Sover- 
eign Directors  of  the  Company,  my  Masters,  I  ask 
the  release  of  the  prisoners,  to  be  forwarded  to  me, 
with  a  full  satisfaction  equivalent  to  the  losses  and 
damages  they  have  sustained,  protesting  expressly, 
in  case  of  relusal,  against  all  the  persons  concei'ued  : 
lliat  there  is  not  a  single  j)ers(»n  who  does  not  feel 
ollended,  and  that  I  always  feel  inclined  to  keep 
IViendly  relations  with  our  neighbors,  so  long  as  I 
am  not  compelletl  to  do  otln'i'wise. 

"Awaiting  with  iin[)atience  your  answer,  I  have 
the  honor  to  be,  with  every  possible  esteem  and  con- 
sideration, Sir, 

"  Your  humble  and  most  obedient  servant, 
'' LoitKNzo  Storkm  de  Gravksani). 

"  Es(|uivo  Iviver,  on  the  last  day  of  September. 
1758." 

94.   It   is  found,  besides,  in   this  testimony,  a  coi)y 

Koiio  22.      •''";i  letter  of  the  Governor  ml  interim  of  Cuiiiana  to 

Gravesand,  in  response  to  the  foregoing,  as  follows: 

"  Dear  Sir  :  The  Commander  of  Guayana  has  for- 
warded to  me,  among  other  documents,  a  letter  of  your 
Honor  addre.ssed  to  him, claiming  the  two  Dutch  pris- 
oners, a  negro  slave  and  a  woman  with  her  children, 
found  by  the  guard  sent  from  that  fortress  to  an  island 
of  the  Cuyuni  I'iver.  in  a  house  where  the  unjust  trade 
of  Indian  I'oytos  fVoni    the  dominions    of  the   King 


130 

my  Master  is  kept.  The  same  Cuyuiii  river,  and  all 
that  district,  being  within  said  dominion,  it  is  not 
creditable  that  the  plenipotentiaries  of  the  States- 
General  could  have  authorized  your  Honor  to  intro- 
duce your  people  there,  and  much  less  for  the  pur- 
pose of  trading  in  Indians  with  the  Spaniards  and 
their  settlements.  Upon  that  point  I  fully  justify 
the  conduct  of  this  step.  I  am  not  at  liberty  to  re- 
lease the  prisoners  and  send  them  to  you  until  the 
final  decision  of  my  Sovereign,  to  whom  I  have  sent 
an  account  of  the  proceedings,  justif^dng  tlie  facts. 
Your  Honor  will  find  me  ready  to  accede  to  any  just 
demands.  May  the  Lord  keep  your  Honor  in  his 
Holy  guard. 

"  I  kiss  the  hands  of  your  Honor.  Your  servant, 
"  Don  Nicolas  de  Castro. 

"  Cumana,  September  9,  1758. 

"  To  Monsieur  de  Geavesand." 

96.  The  Governor  of  Cumana  further  stated  that     j-,.on/the 
after  the  answer  given  by  Don  Nicolas  de  Castro  to    /,}  funifana. 
the  Governor  of  Esquivo,  said  Governor  addressed  a    j.,,,  .j 
case  to  the  Commander  of  Guayana,  who,  after  find- 
ing out  that  it  contained  a  map  and  a   paper,  with- 
out taking  any  further  steps,  closed   and   returned 
the  same  to  said  Governor,  by  the  same  bearers,  as 
everything  is  found  extensively  ex[)lained  l)V  the 
other  testimony  accompanied. 

96.  From  this  testimony  it  appears  that  after  the  Tost.  2. 
report  received  by  the  Commander  of  Guayana,  in 
regard  to  the  arrival  of  a  vessel  in  charge  of  a  few 
Arauca  Indians,  bringing  from  the  Governor  of  Es- 
Cjuivo  a  closed  dispatch  addressed  to  that  of  Guay- 
ana, double  sealed,  and  a  case  three-quarters  of  a 
yard  in  length,  nailed,  containing  a  map,  he  de- 
cided on  the  20th  of  March,  1759,  to  call  the  Notary 
Public  to  attest  to  everything  in  connection  with 
the  case,  and  it  was  done  as  directed. 


l-ol.   1. 


140 

Koi.2.  1)7.    !'>y  auotlier  act  it  \v;is  ascertaiiu'd,  after  open- 

ing the  ahove-MU'utioncMl  case,  that  it  contained  a 
nia{),  and  it  was  closeil  again  and  sent  back  to  the 
(Jovernorof  Ivsqnivo  with  the  paper  acconi])anying 
the  same,  hotli  without  hciug  o])encd,  and  another 
witli  tlie  otiicial  letter  .stating  wliat  was  sent  hack 
through  the  same  Indians.  The  Notary  Public 
made  the  corresponding  (h'livery  of  everything  after 
taking  an  autlientieated  copy  of  the  contents  of  said 
official  letter. 

98.  And  liaving  nnuli^  tlie  delivery,  as  directed, 
tlie  Notary  certilies  that  the  otHcial  letter  of  rcnut- 
tance  is  worded  as  follows  : 

"Dear  Sir:  Tlie   habit   of  opening   tlii.s   })ort  to 
peaceful   Indians,  trading  on   the  Orinoco,  allowed 
the  entrance  of  the  Araucas  (who  not  having  been 
known  as   envoys  of  your  Honor)  sent  to   this  city 
with  the  })urpose  of  delivering  to  me  a  douljle  sealed 
single  despatch,  and   a  small  pine  case,  both   ad- 
dressed to  me.     It  is  not  in  my  power  to  open  the 
paper,  on  account  of  the  general  prohibition  to  allow 
foreign  vessels  entering  the  Spanish  ports  of  America 
or    hold   cori-espondence  with    these  Colonies,   and 
because  1  understand   that  your   Honor  intends  to 
insist  upon   a  demarcation  of  limits,  in   which    the 
Colony    under   your  command   is  situated,  making 
inadmissible    said    despatch    and    case.      For   that 
reason   I   return   both   to  your   Honor,  the  despatch 
closed  and   the  case  nailed,  through  the  same  bear- 
ers, so  that  you  may  take   whatever  steps  you  may 
think  proper,  before  the  competent  parties.     And  as 
your  Honor  in  the  U'tter  ot  the  last  of  September  of 
last  year,  intorms  me  of  having  rei)orted  to  your 
Sovereign  (on  a  subject  almost  of  the  same  nature) 
may  address  your  claim  through  your  Andja.ssador 
l)cfoi-('  the  couit  of  His  Majesty. 

•'  I  am  not  at  liberty  to  act  in  this  matter,  nor  on 
similar  sul)jects,  as  I  have  no  power  to  do  .so. 


Letter 
f  r  <)  m    t  h  e 


141 

"  May  our  Lord  keep  your  Honor  for  many  years 
in  His  holy  guard. 

"  Kiss  the  hands  of  j^our  Honor. 
"  Your  obedient  seryant, 

"  Juan  Yaldes. 
"  To  Seiior  Don  Lorenzo  Thomas  de  Gravesand." 
"  GuAYANA,  March  the  20th,  1759. 

99.  On  the  same  day,  the  29th  of  March,  said  Com-    foi.  i 
mander  of  Guayana  ordered  the  original  proceedings 
to  be  sent  to  the  Goyernor  of  Cumana,  after  haying 
taken  a  testimony  of  the  same  as  it  was  done. 

100.  Following  this  report,  the  Goyernor  of  Cu 
mana  stated  that  neither  at  the  Goyernment  public  oove'rnor'of 
archiyes  nor  at  his  office  were  found  any  other  doc- 
uments on  the  subject  than  the  two  foregoing  testi- 
monies and  a  Royal  Order,  a  copy  of  which  he  ac- 
companies, issued  by  the  Goyernment  at  Madrid  on 

the  30th  of  March,  1753,  communicated  to  the  Mar- 
quis of  La  Ensenada  for  the  remedy  of  the  injuries 
and  loss  of  life  occasioned  by  the  Caribs  to  the  Mis- 
sions of  Guayana,  under  the  influence  of  the  Esquiyo 
Hollanders,  and  the  other  reason  therein  contained. 
His  Majesty,  after  taking  due  notice  of  tlie  same, 
will  decide  what  is  to  be  done. 

101.  From  said  copy  of  the  Royal  Orderof  tlie  aboye   K,,yai  orcie; 
date  there  is  nothing  else  than  an  order  to  furnish 

a  stronger  military  escort  to  the  Missions  of  Guayana, 
so  as  to  protect  them  against  the  evils  and  attacks, 
harm  and  loss  of  life  by  the  Caribs  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Hollanders,  as  was  represented  by  the 
Missionaries  to  His  Majesty. 

102.  The  last  document  sent,  as  reserved  matter.      Letter    p 
and  indexed  No.  8,  is  a  representation  addressed  to    X(,.  s    Kep- 
His  Majesty,  by  the  JNIissions  of  Guayana,  on  the  6th    of  The'\'re- 
of  July,  1760,  signed  by  Fr.  Benito  de  la  Garriga,    Missions. 
Prefect  of  the  Catalan  Capuchin  Missions  of  Guay- 
ana, in  which  tlie  case  of  the  Hollanders  is  referred 

to,  in  regard  to  the  three  Indian  women,  with  their 


cIliMlcll.  cli-lavnl  ailil  taki'ii  tVolil  tlir  liiolltll  ot'tlir 
( )rin(ic()  hy  tlu'  Ilnllaiiilcrs  ami  ret'OveriMl  troin  their 
Post  at  the  Monica  river  (as  mentioned  in  })ara- 
graphs  50  and  03  of  this  abstract),  and  stating  that 
the  Governor  of  Esquivo  had  complained  against 
the  fact,  having  no  right  to  do  so. 

He  continned  explaining  the  reasons  he  iiad,  as 
well  as  his  predecessor,  for  keeping  a  sharp  vigilance 
against  the  Hollanders  to  prevent  the  injury  they 
do  to  the  Missions.  He  stated  that  the  [)ractice  of 
those  strangers  was  now,  as  before,  to  go  to  the  in- 
terior of  that  Province  to  enslave  the  Indians,  vas- 
sals of  His  Majesty,  and  carry  them  away  to  their 
Colony  ;  that  this  {)rai'tice  was  currently  authorized 
by  the  (lovernor  of  Esquivo,  as  stated  in  the  letters 
patent  and  })assports  from  the  same  Governor,  and 
in  his  own  handwriting,  delivered  to  the  persons 
leaving  the  Colony  for  the  purpose  of  enslaving  the 
Indians,  and  without  any  respect  penetrating  in  our 
own  settlements,  as  had  been  done  several  times 
before ;  that  the  predecessors  of  the  exponent  had 
informed  His  Majesty  in  the  year  of  1751  of  the 
case  ;  that  the  Commissioners  of  the  Royal  Expedi- 
tion had  given  the  same  report,  and  brought  it  to 
the  knowledge  of  1  )on  .losef  Iturriaga  by  a  letti-r 
addressed  to  him  by  the  deponent  in  1750,  request- 
ing the  means  of  i)ractically  stopping  this  abuse, 
and  by  a  letter  of  Don  Ricardo  Oval  in  1757  ;  that 
the  representation  of  tiie  exponent  seemed  to  have 
reached  the  notice  of  the  Minister  of  His  Majesty, 
but  witiiout  any  practical  benefit. 

103.  In  the  year  17  IS,  our  Mission  of  Miamo  was 
visited  by  two  while  men  from  Esquivo  with  a  pass- 
port from  the  Governor  to  buy  Indians,  and  as  the 
l-'ather  Missionai'ies  had  oidy  recently  arrived  fi'om 
.S[»ain,  he  could  not  understand  the  gravity  of  the 
case,  and  he  sent  them  back  only,  without  giving 
them  time  to  collect  old  debts  from  the  Caribs,  and 


143 

that  in  the  same  year,  at  the  plains  of  Corumo,  a 
colored  woman  from  Esquivo  was  buying  Poytos 
from  the  Caribs,  and  that  in  1749,  a  sohlier  from  the 
escort  of  the  Missions  arrested  one  of  these  traders, 
while  very  near  the  Mission  of  Miamo,  who  had  a 
patent  from  the  Governor  of  Esquivo  to  come  and 
purchase  slaves  ;  and  in  said  letters  patent  the  Gov- 
ernor called  himself  Governor  of  Esquivo  and  the 
mouth  of  the  Orinoco ;  that  this  and  other  letters 
from  the  same  Governor  were  sent  by  his  predeces- 
sor with  the  above-mentioned  rejjort  of  said  year 
1751. 

104.  That  one  of  the  Hollanders  was  domiciled 
with  the  Caribs,  during  eight  years,  at  the  Aquire 
river,  making  purchases  of  Poyto.s,  and  that  numer- 
ous other  men  were  carrying  on  the  same  trade  in 
Puruey,  Caura  and  Parava,  from  where  they  used 
to  send  to  Esquivo  and  Surinam  remittances  of 
twenty  to  fifty  Poytos,  and  they  had  decamped  for 
fear  of  the  arrival  of  the  Royal  Expedition  in 
Orinoco. 

105.  There  was  a  revolt  in  the  year  of  1750,  when 
all  the  Caribs  of  our  five  Missions  of  Miamo,  Cunure, 
Tupuquen,  Curumo,  and  Mastanambo  rose  and 
killed  four  soldiers  of  the  escort  and  eight  Span- 
iards, showing  many  other  kinds  of  hostilities.  At 
the  end  of  one  vear  many  of  them  were  brouorht 
back,  and  they  discovered  what  had  been  supposed 
before  with  sufficient  reason,  that  they  (the  Caribs) 
had  done  what  they  did  at  the  instance  of  the  Hol- 
landers, who  taught  them  the  way  of  doing  it,  select- 
ing ten  Caribs  beforehand  to  each  Father,  and  ten 
more  to  each  soldier,  and  the  rest  to  plunder  all 
at  the  same  time,  at  the  hour  of  the  mass  and  at 
the  time  of  leaving  the  church,  when  they  were  to 
kill  the  Fathers  and  soldiers  ;  that  it  was  so  carried 
out ;  that  the  exponent  knew  of  the  circumstances, 
having  been  present  and  an   occular  witness  to  the 


144 

same,  as  he  was  tlu-  I'l't-sidrnt  at  the  TuiiU([uen 
(Mission);  tliat  lie  was  lii^ewisc  a  pri^Diu'i'  of  tlic 
Caribs  and  liis  liberation  was  a  miracle;  that  lu- 
saw  the  way  in  which  the  Caribs  killed  two  militia- 
men and  two  soldiers  left  as  dead,  after  smashing 
their  heads  with  Macana  sticks;  that  they  carried 
away  to  their  feast  the  hand  of  one  of  those  who  was 
killed,  and  stole  the  sacred  vessels  and  ornaments 
for  the  Divine  Service;  that  he  saw  likewise  and 
recognized  a  colored  Hollander,  wdio  came  to  teach 
the  Carib  Indians  and  stimulatt'  them  ;  that  his 
name  was  well  known  in  those  Missions. 

106.  It  was  in  1702,  when  the  Father  President  of 
the  Mission  Supama,  reported  to  him  that  a  Guaica 
Captain  of  that  Mission  had  stolen  several  yonnjj,' 
Indians  from  the  same  settlement  and  sold  them  to 
Dutch  traders,  and  that  in  order  to  de[)rive  him  of 
another  opportunity  he  had  placed  him  and  his 
party  in  another  Mission,  and  that  his  settlement 
was  bound  to  {perdition  under  the  persecution  of  the 
Caribs. 

107.  It  was  at  our  Mission  of  Cavallaju  that,  on 
the  20th  of  June,  1766,  a  negro  and  an  Indian,  l)Oth 
purchasers  of  Po^^tos,  came  each  (uie  with  a  pass- 
port iVom  the  Governor  of  IOs(piivo,  who,  as  they 
represented,  was  their  Master,  and  that  they  were 
slaves,  although  in  the  })ass})ort  it  was  stated  that 
they  were  to  go  to  the  Aponony  river,  as  the  inter- 
preter said,  to  collect  old  debts,  being  understood 
that  they  were  to  collect  and  purchase  Indians,  and 
the  Father,  at  the  head  of  that  Mission,  ordered  the 
retention  of  the  two  Curiaras  (small  Indian  boats) 
at  the  port  of  the  Mission,  and  by  land  sent  them 
to  the  Mission  at  Guasipati,  of  which  the  exponent 
was  the  President,  and  took  away  the  i)assports 
from  them,  written  in  the  Dutch  language,  and  the 
same  as  are  annexel  to  his  representation,  nuirked 
with  the  letters  A  and  B;  that  the  soldiers  arrested 


145 

the  two  men  and  presented  them  to  the  Reverend 
Father  Prefect,  who  was  at  the  time  Fr.  Josef  de 
Guardia,  and  the  negro  was  sent  to  Don  Joaquin 
Moreno,  the  Commander  General  of  Guayana,  who 
let  the  Indian  stay  at  the  Caroni  Mission. 

108.  That  this  same  negro,  at  the  end  of  the  year 
1765,  had  come  before  to  the  Mission  of  Cavallaju 
and  Guasipati  with  a  passport  saying  that  he  was  a 
negro  Creole,  on  his  way  to  Carapo  in  quest  of  a  few 
fugitive  Indian  slaves  from  Esquivo,  four  in  num- 
ber, from  different  tribes  and  families,  who  six  years 
before  had  been  in  said  Mission ;  that  the  exponent 
prevented  them  from  going  any  farther,  and  allowed 
two  of  the  said  Indians  to  inform  them  that  they 
did  not  wish  to  go,  persuaded  as  the}^  were  that  it 
was  infinitely  better  to  remain  in  the  Mission  than 
to  be  slaves  of  the  Governor  ;  that  he  sent  back  said 
negro,  and  that  he  promised  to  return  witli  his  fam- 
ily and  become  Christians,  informing  the  exponent 
that  for  three  years  he  had  been  at  Parava,  buying 
Poytos  from  the  Caribs,  who  deceived  him,  and  as 
he  could  not  give  a  good  account  to  his  Master  he 
was  kept  imprisoned  for  a  long  time,  and  that  there 
is  not  a  Carib  who  does  not  know  of  his  case. 

109.  That  the  debts  mentioned  in  the  negro's 
passport  were  shown  by  the  fact  of  iiis  coming  from 
E'^quivo  to  Cuyuni,  Yumari  and  the  port  of  the  Ca- 
vallaju Mission  with  two  Curiaras,  or  small  boats, 
one  of  which,  loaded  with  firearms,  iron  imple- 
ments, hatchets,  knives,  drygoods  and  gewgaws,  and 
tliat  everything  had  been  distributed  among  the 
Indians  of  said  settlement  and  those  of  Guamo  and 
Guasipati,  being  understood  that  the  {)ayment  for 
tlie  same  goods  was  to  be  made  by  the  Caribs  in  lit- 
tle young  Indians ;  that  the  Father  Missionary  of 
Cavallaju,  Fr.  Josef  Antonio  de  Cervera,  and  that  of 
Guasipati,  by  an  order  of  the  Reverend  Father  Pre- 
fect, took  away  from  the  Caribs  the  goods  that  had 

Vol.   II,  Vex.— 10 


146 

been  distributed,  consisting-  of  four  ^uns  with  }»o\v- 
der  and  balls,  twenty-two  yards  of  blue  muslin,  u 
few  iron  implements,  mirrors  and  other  trifles,  with 
the  purpose  of  preventing  their  sale  to  the  Indians 
and  to  rebuke  this  kind  of  ti-ade.  As  soon  as  the 
Cavallaju  i)arties  heard  of  the  arrest  of  the  negro 
many  of  them  took  down  the  river  the  boat  loaded 
with  goods,  and  notiiing  is  known  of  what  l^ecaine 
of  the  same  ;  that  the  Missionary  found  in  a  house  of 
the  settlement  a  pair  of  fetters,  and  the  Indians  when 
asked  where  did  they  hnd  them,  said  they  iiad  been 
taken  from  the  negro's  boat,  where  he  had  many 
others,  as  well  as  manacles. 

110.  That  the  exponent  thought  it  was  a  heavenly 
inspiration,  the  arrest  of  this  negro,  which  prevented 
the  accomplishment  of  the  evils  intended  to  be  done 
to  the  Cucuycoto  Indians  found  on  the  southern  side 
of  those  Missions,  to  the  north  of  the  Aponony  river. 
Fifteen  days  l)efore  the  arrival  of  the  negro  at  Caval- 
laju, the  Indians  of  tiiat  settlement  and  ^liamo, 
Cara[)o,  and  Guasij)ati  were  busy  in  making  the 
usual  short,  flat  oars,  curiaras,  arrows,  sharp-edged 
wooden  weapons  which  thoy  said  were  intended 
in  order  to  go  after  said  Indians  and  l>ring  them 
to  the  Mission  settlement ;  that  they  had  believed 
it  Avas  so,  not  paying  much  attention  to  the  nov- 
elty of  so  many  arrows,  as  the}'  knew  the  Cucu- 
yotos  were  a  brave  tribe  ;  but  afterwards  they  found 
their  mistake,  for  as  soon  as  the  Caril)s  lieard  of 
the  arrest  of  the  negro  in  the  castle,  and  that  not- 
withstanding tliat  the  Spaniards  were  re[)roaehed 
for  the  imprisonment  of  a  slave  belonging  to  the 
Governor,  wdio  would  consider  himself  offended  b}' 
the  Caribs,  and  all  this  talk  to  no  purpose,  they  soon 
stopped  the  building  of  curiaras  and  the  rest  of  the 
work,  keeping  quiet  and  saddened;  that  this  turn 
of  affairs  was  consideved  strange,  as  well  as  the  bad 
phazes  of  the  Caribs,  until  it  was  discovered  that  they 


147 

liad  given  up  the  projected  visit  to  the  Cucuyotos  for 
which  they  had  been  invited  by  the  negro,  in  order 
to  go  and  Ivill  them,  carrying  away  tlieir  young  ones 
to  Esquivo ;  that  the  negro  was  to  go  as  captain  of 
this  })arty ;  that  at  that  time  it  was  feared  that  an- 
other revolt  was  in  contemplation  like  the  former 
one,  on  account  of  the  arrogance  and  other  signs 
noticed  among  tiie  Caribs  in  their  dyes  and  bearing, 
especially  when  they  met  the  lowest  of  the  foreign 
Hollanders,  supposing  that,  as  they  were  so  very  near 
Esquivo,  they  could  escape  at  any  time  from  our 
Missions.  Finally,  it  was  discovered  that  they  had 
contemplated  to  quit  tiie  Missions  of  the  exponent 
and  the  other  Reverend  Fathers  and  take  refuge  at 
Parava,  under  the  protection  of  the  Hollanders. 

111.  That  natuially  the  Esquivo  Colonists  in- 
creased their  wealth  by  the  service  of  so  many  In- 
dian slaves,  and  in  proportion  to  the  ingress  of 
many  Englishmen  tlieir  plantations  were  multiplied 
to  the  point  of  wanting  yet  more  farming  lands. 
On  pretence  of  keeping  advanced  Post  Guards  they 
extended  their  plantations  and  territories;  that  the 
Indians  reported  that  they  had  already  extended 
their  plantations,  occupying  all  the  banks  of  the 
Esquivo  river  from  its  mouth  up  to  the  Cuyuni,  a 
distance  of  about  20  leagues  of  navigation  ;  that  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Cuyuni,  up  the  Esquivo  river  at 
eight  days  of  navigation,  they  had  a  guard  of  six 
soldiers,  and  along  that  distance  of  eight  days  there 
were  no  plantations,  on  account  of  the  soil  being 
sandy. 

112.  Tliat  in  the  year  of  1758  the  exponent  re- 
ported to  the  Commander  of  Guayana  that  at  the 
Cuyuni  river,  under  the  cover  of  a  Post,  there  Avas  a 
settlement  of  two  Dutch  families  with  their  house 
and  farms;  that  an  order  was  given  to  seize  them, 
and  a  patent  of  the  Governor  was  taken  from  them 
containing  the    orders    that  they  had   to    observe. 


148 

and  wliic'li  tlu' c'XpuiU'iit  forwar(k'(l,  iiiai'kiMl  with  tlie 
letter  C. 
Letter  p.         113.  This    patent    l)y    tlic    ( Idvcfiidv   <>f   l'%()uiv<>, 
xo.s.oopy    dated  on    the  'JlHli    of  Sci.ti'iiilMi-,  1 7.".7.  tlirccts  tlic 

ol      instruo-  ' 

ti.msorthe    Master  of  till'    Post    at   tlic  Cuvuni  river  to  kec'i)  on 

Master        ot  •  ' 

cuviiuT^  "*  friendly  terms  with  the  Indian  neighbors,  and  not 
to  do  thoni  any  hai'in,  nor  ih'piive  them  of  their 
property,  nor  allow  others  to  do  so;  to  be  careful 
not  to  offend  the  Sjianiards  nor  give  them  any 
grounds  of  con)])laint  :  that  he  was  bound  to  observe 
and  wateh  where  said  Spainai'ds  were  building  tlieir 
houses;  to  follow  their  movenients  on  iheCuynni 
so  that  they  would  not  bring  any  trouble  and,  if 
they  received  any  harm  from  tliem  to  send  notice 
to  the  Governor  of  Es(|uivo,  and  do  the  same  if  any 
l)arties  shouhl  go  there  for  the  purpose  of  collecting- 
debts ;  not  to  permit  any  negotiation  in  said  river, 
unless  the  parties  concerned  liad  powers  to  do  so  by 
their  passport  ;  that  the  Indians  who  were  owing- 
slaves,  should  not  be  allowed  any  advance  of  goods 
in  trade  until  the  j>ayment  and  delivery  of  the  slaves 
due;  not  to  forbid  the  Indians  to  travel  nor  1)0  de- 
tained on  their  w;iy  to  make  ])ayments;  to  carefidly 
■watch  and  iiud  out  the  fugitives,  and  that  wdien  he 
knew  of  any  to  seek  them  until  ari'ested,  and  alter 
lieing  ap[)rehended  to  deliver  them  to  the  Governor 
and  collect  ten  florins  [ler  liead,  and  the  charge  on 
the  slaves  of  any  othei-  party  ;  that  the  masters  of 
slaves  going  after  them,  when  i-umnng  away,  ought 
to  pass  freely  even  when  they  have  had  no  time  to 
be  provided  with  passports,  and  to  render  them  assist- 
ance and  help:  that  the  ('ompany  allowed  him 
power  to  conduct  fi-eely  his  business  on  his  private 
account,  on  condition  that  everything  should  be 
jiurchased  iVoiu  the  Company  in  preference,  as  he 
would  l)e  charg»'d  the  same  [irice  for  the  same  kind 
of  goods;  that  he  was  bound  to  collect  all  debts  due 
to  his  immediate  itredeeessor  at  the   Post,  collecting 


149 


ten  florins  per  head  likewise  and  one  florin  for  each 
hammock  ;  that  it  was  his  duty  to  report  to  the  Gov- 
ernor all  his  purchases  and  dehts  collected  and  also 
to  send  to  the  Governor  twice  a  year  a  statement  of 
everything  done,  and  that  he  was  bound  to  reside 
always  at  the  Post,  as  a  good  offlcer  of  Escjuivo. 

114.  The  representation  of  the  Father  Prefect  of 
the  Missions  accompanies,  likewise,  a  list  of  the 
names  of  those  Caribs  from  whom  (said  Master  of 
the  Post)  had  to  collect  27  Poytos  (Indian  slaves) 
and  37  hammocks,  marked  with  the  letter  D,  add- 
ing that  the  Commander  sent  two  Hollanders  to  the 
Governor  of  Cumana,  Don  Nicolas  de  Castro,  a?nd 
that  the  above  mentioned  were  p  apers  written  in 
Dutch. 

115.  This  list  contains  the  same  items  mentioned, 
adding  only  that  the  Caribs,  through  whom  he  ought 
to  make  the  purchase  of  Poytos  w^ere  ten,  and  those 
for  the  purchase  of  hammocks  were  three,  and  that 
in  said  list  were  found  the  names  of  the  above-men- 
tioned Caribs. 

116.  Following  his  representation,  the  Prefect 
stated  that  the  other  Hollanders  who  had  been 
domiciled  at  the  nearest  point,  above  the  Cuyuni, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Curumo  (river),  not  far  from 
Cavallaju,  had  withdrawn  ;  that  was  the  inference 
when  they  tried  to  acquire  new  sites,  in  order  to 
allege  possession  and,  in  time,  make  a  noise  if  they 
had  no  boundaries  fixed,  as  already  imagined,  that 
the  whole  Cuyuni  river  is  theirs,  when,  indeed,  their 
guards  did  not  go  before  any  farther  than  its  mouth  ; 
that  it  was  shown  by  said  written  orders,  regulating 
the  conduct  of  the  Corporal  of  the  Cuyuni,  that  he 
considered  the  same  place  as  his  own,  as  w^ell  as  the 
Moruca  and  Barima  rivers,  as  mentioned  now  in  his 
complaint  against  said  Commander  General,  using 
the  words  "  insults  and  high-handed  ways,"  on  ac- 
count of  their  expulsion  from  the  advanced  place  of 


No.  8. 

Letter 

from  the 

Preffct    of 

the  Mission, 

fol.  8. 


Xo.  8. 
Letter  D. 


List  of 

debts. 


No.  8. 

Letter 
from  the 
Prefect  of 
the  Mis- 
sion, fol.  6. 


150 


No.  8,  letter 


Letter  of 
the  sa  111  e 
Prefect. 


Bciriina,MS  it  l)asl)een  iioticc(l :  ilial  in  llicir  ( I  )utcli) 
lands  tliere  was  a  large  niultitmlc  <»t'  Iiidian  allies 
Aviiich  they  had  from  three  ti'ilie>,  ihnt  is  to  say, 
Caril)S,  Araueas,  and  Guaraunos,  without  nn-ntion- 
ing  the  Indian  slaves,  as  they  never  restrained  their 
bad  habits  nor  spoke  of  Christian  doctrine  ;  they 
enjoyed  their  life,  and  others  came  to  increase  their 
number;  that  the  iirinci{)al  C'ariljs  they  had  with 
them  were  fugitives  from  our  settlements  and  of  the 
Reverend  Father  Observants  ;  that  they  always  tried 
to  attract  others,  and,  as  they  were  familiar  with  the 
Province  and  of  a  roving  disposition,  tliey  kept  ])ro- 
curi-ng  Indian  slaves  for  the  beneht  of  the  foreigners. 

117.  That  the  territory  of  the  Missions  of  the  ex})0- 
nent  for  the  reduction  of  Indians  was  niarkeil  ijy 
cedule  of  His  Majesty  of  the  year  17oG,  as  foUows: 
From  the  Angostura  of  the  Orinoco  (river),  down  to 
its  large  mouth,  and  a  straight  line  from  both  ends 
to  the  Amazonas  and  Maranon  rivers.  That  this 
(cedule)  and  the  above  complaint  of  the  Governor  of 
Esquivo,  made  doubtful  to  the  exponent  whether  he 
was  to  be  allowed  to  go  iidaml  in  I'utnre  in  the  witrk 
of  reducing  Indians  from  the  said  places  of  Barima, 
Moruca,  Cuyuni,  and  even  on  the  coast,  and  as  it  was 
necessary  i'or  his  {practice  in  the  reduction  of  Indians. 
he  thought  proper  to  lay  the  subject  of  his  doubt 
before  His  Majest}'. 

118.  There  is  also  in  this  No.  S  a  letter  j'rom  the 
same  Reverend  Fr.  Benito  Garriga,  dated  .Inly  (i, 
17<)7,  addressed  to  the  Paymaster  General  of  his 
order,  in  which  he  states  that  if  it  was  possibU'  for  the 
Hollanders  of  P^scjuivo  to  complain  before  the  King, 
on  account  of  the  foregoing  subjects  mentioned  in  his 
re[)ort,  he  tliought  that  it  was  projier  to  inform  His 
Majesty,  so  as  to  have  him  posteil  In  regai'd  to  the 
conduct  of  those  strangers;  that  they  were  endeav- 
oring to  extend  their  territory,  not  only  towards 
Barima   and    Cuyuni,   but    far   above    tlie    f^scpiivo 


151 

river  inland  with  their  Guard  Posts;  that  on  that 
account  it  was  to  be  feared  that  some  trouble  and 
difference  might  haj^pen  in  the  future  between  them 
and  ourselves,  on  account  of  the  Indians  on  the 
present  occasion,  and  in  order  to  avoid  difficulties  to 
the  Missionaries  it  was  proper  to  propose  his  doubts 
in  the  form  already  stated. 

119.  That  on  one  occasion  the  exponent  com- 
plained to  a  Dutch  Hollander,  (arrived  from  Es- 
quivo  to  reside  in  Guayana),  about  the  cause  of  the 
revolt  of  the  Caribs  of  our  Missions  in  1750,  and  he 
answered  that  it  was  because  the  Fathers  made  the 
sites  of  their  Missions  within  their  own  territory; 
that  that  of  Curumo  overstepped  the  line  they  drew 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Acquiri  river  to  the  south, 
and  that  this  territory  had  been  in  their  possession 
since  the  year  1740,  in  which  their  term  had  ex- 
pired, and  the  King  of  Spain  had  not  contradicted 
them  ;  that  the  Mission  of  Miamo  was  distant  from 
Curumo  about  ten  leagues,  according  to  the  opinion 
of  the  Dutchmen,  and  that  either  they  themselves 
or  w^e  were  in  error  about  the  jurisdiction  of  the  ter- 
ritory ;  that  that  same  Hollander  was  well  aware  of 
the  pretensions  of  those  of  Esquivo  ;  that  he  like- 
wise sent  to  His  Majesty  a  statement  of  the  condi- 
tion of  our  Missions,  that,  according  to  the  above 
cedule,  ought  to  be  forwarded  to  the  King  every 
year ;  that  he  had  not  done  so  before,  because  he 
was  busy  with  the  occupation  and  novelty  of  the 
transfer  of  the  four  Missions,  ordered  by  His  Ma- 
jesty; that  besides  the  twelve  Reverend  Fathers 
lately  arrived  fron  Spain,  in  the  yeRY  176-4,  he  wanted 
eleven  more  Priests,  and  one  more  to  act  as  nurse, 
with  the  approval  that  he  sent  from  the  Commander 
General  of  that  Province  in  the  middle  of  the  pre- 
vious year ;  that  they  ought  to  go  as  soon  as  possible 
as  there  were  two  Carib  settlements  without  a  Mis- 
sionary on  that  account,  and  they  had  to  organize 


Ic2 

other  settlements  at  Parava  and  ("aroni' oii  tlu'U|'}»t'r 
soutli  liaiik,  ill  order  to  draw  near  the  Rio  Negro,  so 
as  to  sto})  there  the  ingress  of  the  strangers  and 
Caribs,  who  destroyed  the  tribes  of  those  territories. 

120.  From  tliis  stateineiit  of  the  eoiiditioii  of  the 
""■'■  Missions  it  appears  that  there  are  twenty-one  Mis- 
sions, that  fourteen  tribes  of  Indians  were  still  want- 
ing suitable  settlements,  aiul  that  he  a[>pointe(l  tbr 
every  one  of  them  the  necessary  Missionaries,  specify- 
ing the  name  of  the  Fathers  in  each  one,  giving  the 
total  number  of  baptized  Indians  from  the  time  of  the 
corresponding  foundation,  tlie  marriages,  the  buri- 
als, baptisms,  and  those  already  existing  in  each. 

121.  And  finding  nothing  else  in  the  above  docu- 
Docketdo.  jj^eiit,  by  way  of  reserved  matter,  than  an  Index  of 
Letter  X.      tweuty-two  consultations  brought  to  His  Majesty  on 

^  No  1.  Foi.  gpyg,..jj  occasions  l)y  the  Council  upon  tlie  following 
}>articulars,   the  first  of  thein   dated   September  6, 

tionT"'^^"  1705,  about  the  reports  from  the  Governor  of  Cu- 
sep. (1,1705.  mana  on  the  subject  of  the  commerce  carried  on  by 
the  Martinique  Island  Frenchmen  at  the  Guarapi- 
che  river,  and  the  slavery  in  which  they  kept  the 
Indians,  so  that  His  Majesty  might  apply  to  His 
Most  Chri-stian  Sovereign  for  strict  orders  forbidding 
this  commeree  for  its  consequences.  His  Majesty,  in 
Resolution    response  to  the  above  consultation,  said  :  "The  Am- 

ot    His    Ma-  >■ 

jesty.  bassador  of  tlie  King,  my  Grandfatlier,  has  taken 

charge  of  sending  a  report  of  these  facts  and  of  mak- 
ing me  acquainted  with  the  orders  that  may  be  dic- 
tated by  France,  upon  the  subject."  Said  resolution 
was  publislied  by  the  Council  on  the  2*.)th  of  the 
same  month. 

122.  The  second  consultation  was  on  tlie  7th  of 
June,  1728,  in  which  the  Council,  in  eoni})liance 
with  the  directions  of  His  Majesty,  represented  what 
was  thought  proper  for  the  proposed  fortification  of 
the  Orinoco  river,  so  as  to  protect  the  Missions  and 
})revent   the    commerce    and    arrival    of    strangers. 


153 

His  Majesty  issued  tlie  following  resolution  :  "Tlie 
Council  will  find  my  resolution  on  the  subject  con- 
tained in  my  accompanying  decree  herewith." 

123.  The  third  consultation  was  made  on  the  28th  ,J^,'S„'i''JJr 
of  February,  1725,  about  the  petition  of  Don  Juan  ^^''^■-«'  ^''^^■ 
Alonso  Espinosa  de  los  Monteros,  asking  permission 

to  build  a  fort  and  establish  a  city  on  the  coast  of 
the  Province  of  Cumana,  and  to  bring  to  the  same 
fifty  families  from  the  Canary  Islands,  in  a  vessel  of 
a  150  tons  register.  The  council  was  of  the  opinion 
that  His  Majesty  might  acquiesce  to  said  petition 
under  the  condition  therein  contained.  The  King's 
resolution  was  as  follows  :  "  I  return  to  the  Council 
the  consultation,  with  the  petition  and  report  of  Don 
Cristobal  Felix  de  Guzman  on  the  same  subject,  so 
as  to  be  consulted  of  what  will  be  done."  Said 
resolution  was  published  in  the  Council  of  the  2d  of 
April,  1725,  and  forwarded  to  the  Solicitor  with  the 
antecedents  of  the  case. 

124.  The  fourth  consultation  Avas  on  the   12th  of    Fourth:con- 

s  u  1 1  a  t;!  o  n 

June,  1725,  in  wdiich  the  Council,  following  the  June  12,  ms. 
decision  of  His  Majesty  on  the  consultation,  sent  it 
back  to  him  on  the  26th  of  February  of  the  same 
year,  and  sends  the  petition  of  Don  Cristobal  de 
Guzman,  requesting  his  permission  to  settle  and  pop- 
ulate ditferent  places  in  the  Province  of  Cumana. 
His  Majesty  decided  as  follows:  "The  resolution 
contained  in  the  accompanying  decree  will  show 
the  Council  my  decision  in  regard  to  these  consul- 
tations." 

125.  The   fifth    consultation  was   on  the    5th  of      Fifth  con- 

s  u  1 1  ation. 

April,  1728,  in  wdiich  the  Council  responded  to  the  April  5, ms..^ 
Royal  Order  of  His  Majesty  accompaiiNdng  a  peti- 
tion from  Don  Carlos  Sucre,  requesting  the  appoint- 
ment of  Governor  of  Cumana  and  other  measures  in 
connection  with  the  erection  of  a  Castle  on  the  Ori- 
noco river,  with  his  reasons.  The  resolution  was  as 
follows  :  "  Let  the  Council  issue  the  necessarv  orders 


1 :.  1 

ill    ColUpliimci',    |il(C((lillU    \\\<    W\niV\      \n     lllc    of   the 

cost  ;iii(l  kind  ol'  siipixdl  that  the  ('ouiicil  cxpcfts, 
aiitl  wlnt  iicr  an  tMigiiUH-r  oULilit  In  .uo  In  \\\\^  c(»ii- 
sti'iictidii,  ami  wiiere  to  call  tor  the  necessary  fuiuls." 
It  was  |>u!)]islic(l  ill  ( 'oiincil  on  tlir  llli  of  .Inly,  and 
lorwardcd  to  the  Attorney  of  tlie  Treasury  in  regard 
to  the  su|)j)lies  to  be  furnished  to  the  ens2,ineer  lor 
his  joiii'iicv  and  ilesignat  ini;  tiic  otlice  whei'e  to  call 
for  said  payment. 

I'H).  The  sixth  consultation  was  made  on  the  lUth 

su'naUMni    of  N<ivendier,  1728,  in  which  the  <'onncil,  in  virtue 

>..v.io,  172S.  ,,c^i,,,  |.,,^..,]  (),-,]er  of  His  Majesty  .sending  a  letter 
from  hon  Juan  de  la  Tornera  Soto,  Governor  of  the 
I'ldvinct*  of  (hiayana,  asked  to  bt;  kept  in  the  pos- 
session of  tile  tVanchise  to  found  a  city  in  that  Pro- 
vince, as  a})})lied  f(U'  before,  stating  his  reasons,  His 
Majesty's    resolution    was:    "  Comjiare    the    same." 

of^^His'^M^    It  ^vas  published  in  Council  on  the  11th  of  Scj»tein- 

•"•^'>- '   '       ber,  1733. 

127.  The  seventh  consultation  was  on  the  31st  of 

coM.suiiii-    March.  1729,  in  which   the   Council,  in  coni})liance 

t  i  o  II     a  11  d  ■    ,       I  I  •       A  r     •  •       r.  1  1  /•  T 

resolution,    with  1  lis  Maie.sty  s  Koval  order,  torwarding  a  memo- 
March  31,  J       J  .  '  to 

i~'^-  rial  (petition)  from  Don  Cristobal  Felix  de  Guzman, 

repeating  his  former  proposition  for  building  and 
founding  a  settlement  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Cumana,  and  erecting  a  fortress  on  the  Orinoco 
river,  the  (Tovernment  granting  him  the  Command 
of  the  Province,  stating  his  reasons.  The  King  re- 
solved :  1  accejit  the  opinion  of  the  Council,  and  ac- 
cording to  the  C(Misultation  quoted  of  the  5th  of  A  j)ril. 
1728,  will  extend  the  resolution  1  have  taken  on  the 
points  therein  containe(l  ""  It  was  published  in 
Council  on  the  4th  of  July.  17"_".». 

12s.  The  eighth  consultation  was  on  the  llith  of 

consnita-    Julv,  1  721>,  ill  Compliance  with  His  ^hijest3''s  resolu- 
tion, .luiy  is,      ,•       ■       ,.  ,1  ].     .■  ,      ,    •  '    T    .       -1        1      1 

iTM.  lion  oi  the  consultation  quoted  m  regard  to  the  help 

necessary  for  the  engineer  sent  to  build  a  Cnstle  on 
()rinoco  river,  and  sidect   the  ollice  for  the  pay- 


lic 


155 


ment,  witli  the  necessary  remarks.  His  Majesty 
resolved:  "As  requested,  allowed  in  regard  to  the 
traveling  expenses,  but  not  as  regards  the  increase 
of  salary  or  daily  allowance  above  what  is  allowed 
to  all  the  other  engineers  in  America."  Published 
in  Council  on  the  29th  of  August  of  the  said  year 
1729. 

129.  The  ninth  consultation  was  on  the  15th  of 
September,  1729,  in  regard  to  His  Majest^-'s  decree 
sending  a  vessel  and  revenue  cutters  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Orinoco  river,  to  be  kept  there  during  the 
time  of  the  construction  of  the  fortress,  and  to  be 
under  Don  Carlos  Sucre,  with  the  other  remarks. 
Tne  resolution  was  as  follows  :  "  I  have  decided  to 
send  the  necessary  orders  addressed  to  the  Com- 
mander of  the  windward  squadron.  It  was  pub- 
lished in  Council  on  the  27th  of  September  of  the 
same  year  of  1729." 

130.  The  tenth  consultation  was  on  the  21st  of 
Februar}',  1731,  in  compliance  with  the  Royal  order 
of  His  Majesty  sending  a  memorial  from  Colonel 
Don  Carlos  Sucre,  asking  that  the  Government  of 
Guayana,  fortress  be  added  to  that  of  the  one 
allowed  him  by  His  Majesty,  and  to  be  erected  on 
the  Orinoco  river,  giving  particulars.  The  resolu- 
tion was  as  follows  :  "  Granted  ;  orders  will  be  given 
accordingly."  Published  in  Council  on  the  18th  of 
June  of  the  same  year,  and  the  orders  were  likewise 
issued. 

131.  The  eleventh  consultation  was  on  the  30th 
of  April,  J 731,  in  which  the  Council,  in  compliance 
with  the  Royal  order  of  His  Majesty,  sent  a  letter 
from  Don  Carlos  Sucre,  advising  of  his  not  having 
received  the  despatches,  concerning  the  construc- 
tion of  a  fort  that  His  Majesty  had  decided  to  build 
at  the  Island  of  Fajardo  in  the  Orinoco  river,  and 
the  steps  that  he  suggested  for  its  accomplishment, 
with  other  remarks.     His  Majesty  resolved  :  "  I  am 


Resolution 
of  His  Ma- 
jesty. 


Xintli  con- 
s  u  1 1  a  tion, 
Wepteni b  e  r 
15,  172t). 


Resolu- 
tion of  t  h  e 
KiuK- 


Tenth  con- 
sultation of 
February  21, 
1731. 


R  e  s  o 1 u- 
tion  of  H  is 
Majesty. 


Eleve  n  t  h 
oo  n  s  u  1 1  a  - 
tion,  April 
30,  1731. 


1T:;J. 


of    his    Ma- 


ir,G 

ti.m'oi"HH    'Jii'y  iiilunne"].  and  a,ii,rc'L'  in  opinion  with  tlic  Coiin- 
MHjvsty.         ^.ji;.     i>i,i,ii>,iie,l   on  the  ISth   of  .luni'ot'  the  same 
year,  and  the  corresponding  oiders. 

132.  The  twelfth  consultation  was  on  the  17tli  of 
fon'stiit'a'.  >Se[)teinl)er,  17o2.  in  coinplianrc  with  the  Royal  order 
"mI'imV^t'  sending  the  re[)resentation  ami  project  })roposed  l)y 
Don  Cristobal  Felix  de  ( Inzman  for  the  change  to 
Ango-tura,  on  the  ()i'inoco  i'i\-ci-,  of  tlie  consti'uction 
accorded  by  his  ^lajesty.  in  charge  of  Don  Carlos 
Sucre,  of  the  fort  in  the  Island  of  Fajardo  with  other 
remarks,  being  of  opinion  adverse  to  the  petition, 
his  Majesty  resolved  as  follows:  "This  proposition 
and  petition  is  refused  to  Don  Cristobal  Felix  de 
jesty.  Guzman,  and  for  the  rest  T  have  in  consideration 

the  consultation    of    tlie    2d  of    September,    1737."' 
Published  in  Council    on    the    lOtli    of   December, 
1738. 
cons'una-        l'^'^-  '^^''^'  thirteentli  consultation  was  on  the  -ilUh 
t.''n"ij.-r^'-:l;'    "'^"  September,  1734,  in  which   the   Council,  in  com- 
'"^^"  })liance  with  the  Royal  order  b}'  his  Majesty,  accom- 

})anied  l)y  a  letter  from  Don  Carlos  de  Sucre,  Gov- 
ernor of  the  Province  of  Cumana,  and  a  list  of  his 
propositions  binding  himself  to  build  at  his  own  ex- 
pense the  fort  that  was  to  be  under  his  charge  in  the 
Island    of    Fajardo,    with    fitting    remarks    to    liis 
Kesoiuti.m    Majcstv  ;  the  resolution  of  his  Majesty  was  as  fol- 
jesty.'    ''      lows:  "I  have  given   my  resolution  on  the  subject, 
about  the  consultation   of  Septeml)er  2,   1737."     It 
was  i)ublished  in  the  Council  on  the  Kith  of  Decem- 
ber, 1738. 
Fourtt-.-nti.        134    'r\^^,  fourteenth  consultation  was  on  the  2l>th 

cinisultation, 

^XTitm'*  *^*'  l^»-'<-'*^'"il'<^'i')  1<34,  in  compliance  with  the  Koyal 
order  of  His  Majesty,  sending  a  letter  fron  I)on 
Carlos  de  Sucre,  Governor  of  the  Province  of 
Cumana,  about  the  submission  of  the  Pai'ia  hxlian 
tribe    that    he    had    accom[)lished,    l)ringing    them 

i{.s.,iiiii.)n  under  His  Majesty's  obedience,  with  otiier  remaiks. 
.Ma.i.->iy.     The  resolution  was  as  follows  :  '"'  I  am  dulv  informed."' 


157 

It  was  published  at  the  Ccnineil  on  the  10th  of  De- 
cern ber,  1738. 

135.  The  filteeiith  consuhation  was  on  the  2d  of  ^^.n'/^uatVon 
September,  1737,  in  which  the  Council,  in  obedience  «eptem_ber 
to  the  Royal  orders  of  His  Majesty,  sent  two  letters  to 
the  Governor  of  Curaana,  finding  impracticable  the 
construction  of  the  fortress  required  by  His  Majesty 
at  the  island  of  Fajardo  ;  a  memorial  from  the  Mar- 
quis of  San  Felipe  y  Santiago,  and  another  from 
the  Governor  of  the  island  of  Trinidad,  soliciting 
tlie  aforesaid  Governorsliip  of  Cumana  under  several 
qualifications  made  with  other  remarks  to  His  Maj- 
estv,  and  it  was  resolved:  "Granted.    The  chamber    Resnuuion 

'   '  '  _  of  His 

will  propose  the  persons  possessing  the  necessary  Majesty, 
qualifications  for  the  discharge  of  the  duties  de- 
volved upon  the  one  that  I  may  select,  and  will 
advise  the  Council  about  all  the  particulars  stated, 
bearing  in  mind  for  this  purpose  and  for  the  corres- 
ponding orders,  the  contents  of  the  accompanying 
letters  lately  received  from  Don  Carlos  Sucre,  who 
is  already  according  to  my  orders  an  engineer  in 
Cumana."  All  was  published  at  the  Council  on  the 
10th  of  December,  1738. 

136.  The  sixteenth  consultation  was  on  February  p^,*^Jj'Jj:',Yj',\,j 
10,  1740,  and  in  compliance  with   the  Royal  Order  February lo," 
of  His  Majesty  sending  a  memorial  from   the  Gov- 
ernor-elect of  Cumana  requesting  power  to  appoint 

a  person  to  take  charge  of  the  Governorship  ad  in- 
terim, wdiile  busy  wnth  the  construction  of  the  fort- 
ress that  His  Majesty  had  directed  to  be  built  at  the 
Anoostura  of  the  Orinoco  river,  with  the  other  fran- 
chises  granted  to  Don  Carlos  de  Sucre,  and  other 
fitting  remarks.     His  Maiestv  resolved  granting  the      Resolution 

1    ■  1  T    ,      'i    •       /-,  M  1       /.xi        of   His    Ma- 

petition,  and  it  was  puljlished  ni  (.ouncn  on  the  0th    jesty. 
of  April,  1740. 

137.  The  seventeenth  consultation  was  on  Septem-  ^       ^     ^, 

'■  Seveuteentli 

ber  17.  1740,  in  view  of  a  memorial  by  Don  Isidro  '^^ge^^Jmbi""' 
de  Andrade,  sent  by  order  of  His  Majesty,  prom  is-      i".  i"«- 


iiij;-  to  l)iiil<l  ;it  liis  own  cxpeiisi'  the  fort  rcMjuirud  l>y 
Hi:5  xMcijes;.}'  on  the  Orinoco  river,  and  anotlier  pre- 
sented to  the  Council  desistino- from  his  [)retensions, 
and  [ironiising  to  furnish  at  any  (h'sii^iiated  phice 
the  lime  and  timber  needed  for  tiie  work,  on  condi- 
tion that  His  Majesty  wouhl  aj»{)oint  him  (lovernnr 
of  tlie  Island  of 'rrini(hid,  making  hini  a  Lieutenant 
Colonel,  with  the  other  remarks  of  the  Council, 
Tlie  resolution  was  as  follows:  "1  will  appoint  a 
of'His"^Mti-  well-known  officer  of  the  army,  and  not  Don  Isidro 
jesty.  de  Andrade."     Published  in  Ci)uncil   on    the  7th   of 

.September,  1741. 
EightcYiiiii        i3,s.  The  eighteenth  consultation  was  on  the  l.")th 

c  o  n  s  u  I  I  a-  '^ 

i.WTJo'^^"'^  of  Ai)ril,  1740,  in  which  the  Council  i)laced  in  the 
hands  of  His  Majesty  several  representations,  tesii- 
monies,  and  other  documents  received  froiu  the  pres- 
ent Governors  and  sent  from  Cumana,  with  an  index 
of  the  same,  concerning  other  papers  which  in  the 
year  1747  went  as  a  reserved  matter,  so  that  in  con- 
sideration of  everything  His  Majesty  should  decide 
according  to  his  pleasure  about  the  same.     And   he 

Rosoln- 

tion  of  His    resolved :  "1  have  directed  that  the  Treasurv  otlice 

Majesty. 

at  Caracas  meet  the  necessary  payments  toi-  the 
construction  of  the  ])ro})osed  fortress,  ('omingback 
to  the  Council,  all  the  documents  contiiinrd  in  the 
above  indexes  have  to  be  examined,  on  various 
jxjints  as  to  their  connection  with  mattfi's  of  justice, 
and  will  consult  me  what  niusf  bi-  i-esolve(l."  All  of 
which  was  {)ublished  at  the  Council  on  the  "20th  of 
August,  1749. 
Niii<-t»-cMtii         139.  The  nineteenth  consultation  was  on  the  20th 

cons  11  1  f  ii- 

lioin    April    of  April,  17")2,  in    which   the    Council    prt'sented  to 
_.),  ii>"j.  '■  ' 

His  Majesty  the  i'e(piest  made  again  by  the  Ilev- 
erend  Fr.  Francisco  Xistal  Yanez,  of  the  (Jrdei-  of 
San  Francisco,  for  25  soldiers  to  serve  as  escort  of  the 
Missionaries  of  his  order  in  the  Orinoco  river,  besides 
the  b~)  already  allowed  tbr  that  service,  and  in  ea-e 
that  His  M?ijesty  did  not  agree  to  translt^r  the  alfair 


159 


to  the  Governor  of  Camana.  His  Majesty  resolved  as 
follows  :  "  I  have  issued  the  corresponding  resolution, 
and  the  Missionaries  may  apply  to  the  Governor." 
All  that  Avas  published  in  Council  on  the  11th  of 
July,  17.32. 

140.  The  twentieth  consultation  was  on  the  10th 
of  x\pril,  1752,  in  which  the  Council,  in  compli- 
ance with  the  Royal  orders,  accompanying  a  let- 
ter and  a  testimony  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
Governor  of  Cumana  and  other  documents  men- 
tioned by  His  Majesty,  in  regard  to  a  Dutch  prize 
made  by  tlie  Garrison  of  Guayana  on  the  Orinoco 
river,  the  Council  was  of  the  opinion  that  the  per- 
sons apprehended  wxre  to  be  sent  to  work  at  the  for- 
tress of  La  Carraca,  and  that  orders  should  be  issued 
to  that  effect.  "  Granted,  and  the  order  has  been 
issued  for  the  construction  of  the  fort  and  the  ship- 
ment of  the  artillery."  Published  in  Council  on  the 
15th  of  July,  1752. 

141.  The  twenty-first  consultation  was  on  the  22d 
of  September,  1752,  in  which  the  Council,  taking  in 
consideration  the  exposition  of  the  Prior  General  of 
the  Missions  of  the  Capucliin  Fathers  in  Guayana, 
asking  for  a  suitable  military  escort,  on  account  of 
the  revolt  of  the  four  Carib  settlements,  and  for  the 
powers  requested  ])y  the  Prefect  of  said  Missions  for 
the  removal  of  tlie  soldiers,  asking  an  amnesty  for 
insurgents ;  the  Council  was  of  the  opinion  that 
His  ]\Iajesty  acceed  t()  the  petition.  The  resolution 
was  as  follows  :  "  I  have  decided  what  was  published 
in  Council  on  the  22d  of  December  of  the  same 
year." 

142.  The  twenty-second  consultation,  the  last  of 
the  index,  which  was  added,  bears  date  of  Septem- 
ber 11,  1759,  in  which  the  Council,  in  view  of  what 
was  represented  by  the  Governor  of  Cumana  and 
the  Prior  of  the  Missions  of  the  Capuchin  Fathers 
from  Aragon,  asking  for  fourteen  more  members  of 


R  e  s  o  1  u  - 
tion  of  His 
Majesty. 


Twentieth 
consultation. 
April  10,  17.'j2. 


Resolution 
of  His  Ma- 
jesty. 


T  w  e  n  t  y  - 
first  consul- 
tation, Sep- 
tember 2  2  , 
17.52. 


Resolution 
of  His  Ma- 
jesty. 


T  w  e  n  t  y- 
second    con- 
sultation, 
September 
li,  1759. 


ICO 

tlicir  order  lor  the  Missioii.s  they  riiaintain<'(l  in  that 
Province.  Tlic  oriuinal  answer  of  the  Attorney 
CJeneral  was  placed  in  the  liands of  His  Majesty,  and 
accepting  his  opinion,  he  at(jnie.sed  and  allowed  the 
reque.-t,  with  directions  for  the  payment  of  their 
transportation  at  the  Trcarniy  oltice  of  San  Sabas- 
tian,  as  sutrgcsted  \>y  {\\v  rcjiort  of  the  Accom})tant 
acconipanyiiiL:;  this  consultation,  and  His  Majesty 
Resolution    rcsolvcd  as  folk)Ws:  "  Gi-anted  ;  and  in  regard  to  the 

of    His    Ma-  .  ,.     1    •       ,r.      ■  T    1 

.icsty.  su{)plies  and  trans|)ortation  oi  this   Mi.ssion,  i  have 

issued  the  necessary  orders.''     I'uldished  in  Council 

on  the  "20th  of  September,  1750. 

Docket  do.        l'^'^-  -^'^'^    having   placed   these  proceedings  and 

Procoed-     aunexcs  in   tin;   hands  of  the  Attorney  General  as 

"'^Viy.  "''^'  directed  by  the  Mini.ster,   in    his   answer  of  the  Gth 

T.ctt.ro.      of  August,  1774,  he  said:    That,  in  the  proceedings 

No.  1.  instituted,  in  consequence  of  the  j^retensions  of  the 

^Minister  of  Holland  assuming  his  right  or  dominion 

on  his  part  to  fish  in  that  portion  of  Orinoco  river, 

and  that  he  was  distuii)ed  and  unjustly  ejected  by 

tiie  subjects  of  Ilis  Majesty,  he  I'ccalls  the  fact  that, 

ill  order  to  carry  out  the  Ivoyal  order  of  September 

li>,   1709,   he    reipiested    from    the  Secretary  of  the 

Universal  Dt'partment  of  Indies,  as  well  as  from  the 

Council,   all   the  documents  and  antecedents  to  be 

found  in  connection  with  the  subject. 

144.  That  it  was  done  and  that  he  received  a 
large  amount  of  pa{)ers,  letters  and  documents,  and 
that  having  taken  thorn  all  into  mature  con- 
sideration, he  found  that  it  was  a  jirotracted 
matter,  wanting  close  attention  and  coiisideralile 
time,  that  he  needed  for  the  discharge  of  his  duties, 
anil  in  order  to  avoiil  this  inconvenience,  he  sug- 
gested that  the  whole  allair  should  be  submitted  to 
a  Relator  of  the  pleasure  of  the  Council,  so  as  to 
take  special  notes  and  an  abstract  of  all  the  ante- 
cedents and  facts  up  to  the  present  time,  and  when 
that    had    been   done,  to  send   it    back   to  him    (the 


IGl 

Attorney  General)  so  as  to  submit  his  further  views 
and  report  to  His  Majesty. 

145.  And  the  Council  having  accepted  this  sug- 
gestion by  decree  of  the  1st  of  September,  1774,  all 
the  proceedings  were  delivered  to  me  for  the  purpose 
already  explained  by  the  answer  of  the  Attorney 
General.     That  was  the  result. 


The  foregoing  copy  agrees  with  the  original  docu- 
ments kept  in  the  General  Archives  of  the  Indies  in 
the  Bookshelf  131— Case  7— Docket  17.  Seville, 
December  26th,  1890. 

The  Keeper  of  the  Archives. 

Carlos  Jimenez  Placer — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

[seal.] — General  Archives  of  the  Indies. 


The  undersigned.  Consul  General  of  Venezuela  in 
Spain,  certifies  to  the  authenticity  of  the  signature 
of  Don  Carlos  Jimenez  Placer,  Keeper  of  the  General 
Archives  of  the  Indies. 

Madrid,  January  10th,  1891. 

P.  FORTOULT  HURTADO. 


The  undersigufid,  Minister  of  Foreign  Aftairs  of 
the  United  States  of  Venezuela,  certifies  to  the  au- 
thenticity of  the  signature  of  Senor  Pedro  Fortoult 
Hurtado,  Consul  General  at  the  preceding  date. 

Caracas,  March  6th,  1896. 

P.  EZEQUIEL   ROJAS, 

[seal.] — Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs. 

Vol.  n,  Ven.— 11 


162 
No.  IX. 

[Translation.] 

Stand  131.— Case  7.— Docket  17. 

General  Auchives  ok  thk  I.voies — (Seville.) 


Document  No.  8. 


1  7C>0.— Certified  eopy  s:iv<'ii  at  the  City  of  Santo  Thome  rte 
hv  Giiayaiia,  on  the  20th  of  November,  1709,  sij;iie<l 
by  several  civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities,  in  rej^ard 
to  tin'  ji'oo<l  servii-es  rendered  by  the  General  Coni- 
inan<ler  of  this  Province  of  Guayana  and  the  new  set- 
tlements of  the  upper  and  lower  Orinoco  and  Rio  Negro 
in  preventing'  the  ingress  of  foreigners  and  illi<-it  trad- 
ers on  the  Orinoco,  <lislodgiiig  th<'  Hollanders  from  the 
Barima  river,  which  they  had  nsuri)ed  with  parts  of 
the  lands  on  their  banks,  etc. 

(It  catnc  with  letter  No.  .'i  from   the  Governor,  Don   Manuel   Centurion    dated  on 
the  5th  of  April,  1770.) 


It  forms  a  part  of  the  proceedings  instituted  on  account  of 
the  report  of  the  Minister  from  JloUand,  com})lainiiig  of  the 
conduct  oi'the  Spaniards  against  the  Escpiivo  Colony. 


We,  Don  Juan  Josef  Canales,  an  Ecclesiastical  .ludge.  Rec- 
tor and  Vicar  of  this  City  of  Santo  Thome  de  hi  Guayana  : 
Don  Andres  de  Oleaga,  Royal  Accomptant  of  the  same: 
Don  Jose  Bosse,  Captain  of  Infantry  and  Sergeant  Major  oi' 
the  Orinoco  troops ;  Don  Juan  Antonio  Bonalde,  Captain  of 
Infantrj'^  of  the  same  ;  Don  Nicolas  Martinez,  Lieutenant  Com- 
mander of  Artillery ;  Don  Antonio  Barreto,  Lieutenant  of 
Infantry  and  (-hief  Adjutant  of  the  same;  and  the  resident 
officers  and  civilians,  Cajttain  Don  Diego  Ignacio  Marino,  the 


193 

Militia  C.iptain;  Don  Vicente  Franco;  Lieutenant  Don  Juan 
de  Jes'js  Mier;  Don  Joaquin  de  Mieres ;  Don  Cayetano  Fil- 
gueyra  y  Barcia,  and  the  Militia  Captain  Calixto  de  Lesema, 
etc.,  certify  before  all  those  to  whom  the  present  may  be  shown 
that  Don  Manuel  Centurion  Guerrero  de  Torres,  Royal  Cap- 
tain of  the  Artillery  Corps,  General  Commander  of  this  City 
and  Province  of  Guayana  and  the  new  settlements  of  the  lower 
and  upper  Orinoco  and  Rio  Negro,  has  endeavored  and  con- 
tinues to  endeavor  in  securing,  from  the  time  of  his  arrival, 
with  indefatigable  diligence  and  Constance,  the  greatest  im- 
provement of  this  Province  and  its  dependencies,  having  for- 
tified provisionally  and  placed  in  a  state  of  defence  the  moun- 
tain of  Padrastro  of  the  Castle  of  San  Francisco  de  Asis,  the 
bulwark  and  safety  of  this  Province;  that  for  the  same  pur- 
pose he  had  removed  the  four  settlements  called  Piacoa,  Tipu- 
rua,  Vijacoa  and  Unata,  from  the  proximity  of  the  fortress  to 
other  places  (where  an  enemy  intending  attack  upon  the  Prov- 
ince) could  not  make  any  use  of  them;  that  he  armed  and 
built  two  launch  corsairs  to  prevent  the  entrance  of  foreigners 
and  illicit  traders  in  the  Orinoco,  persecuting  and  seizing 
them  on  the  seacoast  of  Paria,  Trinidad,  and  Gulf  Triste. 

He  likewise  dislodged  from  the  Barima  river  the  usurping 
Hollanders  who  had  settled  on  its  margins,  in  alliance  with 
over  eight  thousand  Carib  Indians,  natives  of  that  territory. 
He  built  a  powder  magazine  in  this  capital,  provisional  head- 
C[uarters  for  the  troop,  a  commodious  hospital  for  the  sick,  and 
well-secured  lodgings  for  the  laborers  of  the  fortress. 

He  had  erected  a  small  fort  furnished  with  artillery,  guarded 
by  eight  soldiers,  and  a  new  Indian  settlement  in  the  Caura 
river,  theater  of  the  inhuman  war  waged  by  the  Caribs  for 
their  infamous  commerce  of  Indian  Poytos  or  slaves  to  be  sold 
to  the  Esquivo  Hollanders;  he  had,  likewise,  explored  the 
immense  cocoa  fields  of  the  upper  Orinoco,  and,  in  order  to 
im{)rove  the  commerce  in  these  staples,  he  continues  the  pop- 
ulation of  the  Indian  settlements  in  these  territories,  support- 
ing and  keeping  there  a  captain  settler  and  some  Andalu- 
sian  Capuchin  Missioners,  with  an  officer  and  troop,  escorting 
them  up  to  Rio  Negro,  where  they  have  established  new  settle- 


1(J4 

iiuiits,  and  the  Missions  of  I. a  Ivsniri'alila,  Saint  I'liillip,  Saint 
Francisco  Solano  and  Santa  Barbara,  keeping  tliose  of  San 
('arlos  and  Maypnres,  fonndcd  by  the  boundary  expedition, 
lie  has  likewise  trained  and  dressed  in  uniform  all  the  troo|).s 
ot'  this  TrDvinee,  wliidi  lie  found  in  a  most  deplorable  condi- 
tion of  abandonment  and  nudity  for  want  of  economy  on  the 
part  of  the  Director.  He  has  brought  together  and  [)opulated 
at  Pan  dc  Azu.car  the  dispersed  Indians  from  the  ^Jission  ot 
Cabruta  and  the  fugitive  tribes  from  the  Province  of  Barce- 
lona in  the  new  settlements  of  Tajaquire  and  Cerro  del  Mf.iio, 
and  has  founded  the  three  new  Missions  of  Panaj)ana,  Marua- 
note,  and  Oroco})iche,  in  the  proximity  of  this  capital,  at  a  dis- 
tance of  two  or  three  leagues,  for  their  commerce  and  mainte- 
nance. He  has  commenced  and  is  carrying  on  with  the 
greatest  activity  the  ei-ection  of  a  magnificent  church  in  this 
capital,  ot  a  model  and  architecture  seldom  seen  in  Anierit-i. 
He  has  founded  a  town  called  Borbon,  inhabited  by  S[)anish 
families  from  the  Province  of  New  P)arcelona,  without  taxing 
the  King  with  rations  for  their  maintenance  on  the  first  year, 
nor  any  other  expenses,  as  it  was  the  customar}^  case  with  other 
new  townships  in  former  times. 

He  has  likewise  erected  a  small  fort  in  the  interior  of  this 
Province  at  the  Paragua  river,  guarded  with  artillery  and 
soldiers  to  prevent  the  Hollanders  from  taking  away  tlie  Poytos 
they  used  to  draw  from  tlic  headwaters  of  the  Orinoco  river 
for  the  service  ot  their  Colony  on  the  Atlantic  coast  of  this 
continent.  Pie  has  improved  and  increased  the  city  with  o\er 
sixty  tile-roofed  houses  with  common  walls,  ])ringing  as  numy 
families  from  the  Provinces  to  inhabit  them,  and  enjoy  con- 
veniences which  they  did  not  possess  in  their  own  country  or 
that  they  have  found  at  present  among  the  iidiabitants  of 
Guayana. 

And,  linally,  in  the  disposition  of  cattle  ranches  and  S])anish 
settlements  to  be  established  at  the  upper  Orinoco  by  His 
Majesty's  directions.  And  in  all  these  new  and  important  en- 
terprises and  those  accomplished  by  the  communities  of  Mis- 
sioners  supported  by  said  General  Commander,  his  true  zeal, 
wise  government,  and  generous  conduct   are  manifest,  as  well 


165 

as  his  endeavors  to  promote  tlie  welfare  of  this  Province  and 
the  benefits  to  be  derived  b}'  the  Crown  of  Spain  from  fostering 
the  safety  and  advancement  of  this  extensive  Province,  so  ad- 
vantageously situated,  being  the  nearest  to  Spain  from  Amer- 
ica, a  constant  trade  can  be  secured  with  those  kingdoms, 
even  in  time  of  war,  without  fear  of  their  vessels  being  inter- 
cej)ted  or  seized  by  the  enemy's  corsairs  or  crusiers,  as  there 
is  no  obstacle  or  any  fixed  place  to  wait  for  them,  from  the 
large  mouth  of  the  Orinoco  to  the  shores  of  Spain. 

And,  finally,  we  do  our  duty  (free  from  bias),  in  advocating 
for  the  Orinoco  as  the  only  safe  and  handy  place,  held  b}'  the 
King  in  America,  in  time  of  war — he  may  communicate  his 
necessary  orders  to  all  of  these  dominions  within  twenty  and 
twenty-five  days.  AVe  have  to  state,  likewise,  that  if  the  Gen- 
eral Commader  would  be  provided  witli  the  necessary  means, 
according  to  his  diligence,  activity,  intelligence,  and  the  favor- 
able disposition  of  many  persons  desiring  to  settle  in  the  neigh- 
boring Provinces,  attracted  by  the  conveniences  and  fertilities 
of  this  most  beautiful  and  extensive  Province,  on  account  of 
its  commerce  and  amenity,  it  would  Ijecome,  within  a  short 
time,  a  New  Spain  for  the  State,  with  all  tlie  above  advantages, 
making  it  the  most  distinguished,  and  therefore  deserving  the 
first  attention  of  His  Majesty. 

In  order  to  appreciate  the  force  and  truth  of  the  foregoing 
statement,  it  is  enough  to  observe  the  benefit  derived  by 
strangers  from  the  French  Colony  of  Cayena,  and  the  Hol- 
landers from  those  of  Surinam,  Berbis  (Berbice)  and  Esquivo, 
on  the  eastern  shore  of  their  Province,  and  it  will  be  found  that 
in  the  first  and  second  one  within  less  than  thirt}'  leagues  in- 
land (navigation  on  the  rivers  of  their  names),  they  keep  a 
steady  commerce,  employing  over  two  hundred  vessels  each 
one,  and  a  few  less  vessels  respectively  the  third  and  last,  of 
less  population  and  close  to  the  sea  coast.  If  those  colonies 
yield  to  their  inhabitants  such  an  abundance  of  commercial 
products,  within  so  short  a  distance  inland,  how  much  more 
could  be  expected  from  the  magnitude  and  extension  (as 
plainly  and  well  known)  of  the  Orinoco  trade,  in  consideration 
of  its  population,  advantages,  and  general  establishment. 


We  ccrtity  tin-  truth  ot'thc  [)re.sent  statciiu'ut  (tVoe  from  any 
interested  mutivcs)  .so  as  to  make  it  known,  and  for  the  best 
interest  of  both  Majesties  (giving  us  due  credit).  All  the  fore- 
going facts  are  true,  and  as  such  we  state  them,  as  it  is  our 
duty  to  [)resent  them  (undeceiving  those  whom  it  may  con- 
cern), at  the  verbal  request  of  said  Commander  CJeneral,  and 
sign  herewith  on  common  paper,  as  there  is  none  stamped  in 
this  city  of  San  Thome  de  hi  (iuayana,  on  the  •2()th  day  of 
November  of  ITb-). 

•Juan  .Joseph  Canales. 

.Jos i: I'll  BossE. 

Andres  de  Oleaga. 

Juan  Bonalde. 

Nicolas  Martinez. 

Antonio  Barreto. 

Vivente  Franco. 

Diego  Ignacio  Marino. 

•Juan  de  Jesus  de  Arrieros. 

Cayetano  Filgueyra  y  Barzia. 

Joaquin  Arrieres. 

Calixto  Lezama. 


It  agrees  with  its  original  paper  made  at  tlie  rtMpicst  of  Don 
Manuel  Centurion,  General  Commander  of  this  Province,  and 
we  attest  to  the  truth  of  said  order,  as  acting  witnesses,  tor 
the  want  of  a  Notary  Public,  and  take  this  copy  faithfully 
written  and  corrected,  in  three  folios  of  common  paper,  for  want 
of  stamps  in  this  Province,  and  signed  in  the  city  of  (Juayana 
on  the  4th  of  April,  1700. 

Diego  Ignacio  Marino — [tliere  is  a  lloiirish]. 

Estevan  Mir — [there  is  a  llourisli.] 


We,  i)oii  .Juan  .Joseph  Canales,  Rector  of  the  Parish  and 
city  of  (iuayana,  and  Vicar  of  the  same  and  of  the  Province, 
and  Ecclesiastical  Judge,  and  Andres  de  Oleaga,  Accomptant 


1(37 

Officer  of  the  Royal  Treasury,  certify  :  that  the  two  signatures 
authorizing  the  foregoing  testimony,  are  those  of  Don  Diego 
Ignacio  Marino  and  Estevan  Mir,  residents  of  this  city,  and 
the  witnesses  with  whom,  for  want  of  Notary  Public,  extends 
his  official  acts,  his  Honor  the  Commander  General  in  his  tri- 
bunal, combining  the  qualities  and  circumstances  prescribed 
by  the  laws  of  this  Kingdom,  and  therefore  entitled  to  full 
faith  and  credit,  both  in  judicial  or  extra-judicial  acts. 

In  testimony  whereof  we  give  the  present  in  this  City  of 
Guayana,  on  the  4th  of  April,  1770. 

Juan  Joseph  Canales, 
Andres  de  Oleaga. 
(With  their  flourishes.) 


This  copy  agrees  with  its  corresponding  original,  existing  in 
the  General  Archives  of  the  Indies,  in  Stand  131 — Case  7 — 
Docket  17 — Seville,  December  the  29th,  1890. 

The  Chief  of  Archives. 

Carlos  Jimenez  Placer — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

[seal.] — General  Archives  of  the  Indies. 


The  undersigned,  Consul  General  of  Venezuela,  in  Spain, 
certifies  to  the  authenticity  of  the  signature  of  Seiior  Carlos 
Jimenez  Placer,  Chief  of  the  General  Archives  of  the  Indies. 

Madrid,  .January  14th,  1891. 

P.  Fortoult  Hurtado — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


The  undersigned,  Minister  of  Foreign  Aff'airs  of  the  United 
States  of  Venezuela,  certifies  to  the  authenticity  of  the  signa- 
ture of  Seiior  Pedro  Foutoult  Hurtado,  Consul  General  of 
Veveziiela  in  Spain  at  the  time  of  the  above  date. 

Caracas,  March  6th,  1896. 

P.  Ezequiel  Rojas.. 

[seal.] — Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs. 


1G8 
X<».  X. 

[Traiisli\tion.] 

Stand  131. — Case  7. — Kockel  IT. 
Gknkral  Archives  ok  the  iNniES. — (Seville.) 


1769. 

Consultation  by  tlie  Council  of  the  liidios  t<»  lliis  3Ia.jesty 
about  the  despatch  and  report  of  tlie  3Iinister  of  Hol- 
land, ooniplaininjf  of  the  ('onduct  of  the  Si)aniards  of 
Orinoio  ajiainst  the  C<dony  of  I'^siiuivo— Madrid,  the 
l»7th   of  October,   17(J9. 


Jt  forms  }»art  of  the  proceedings  instituted  in  regard  to  tlic 
claim  by  the  Minister  of  Holland,  complaining  of  the  coikUuI 
of  tlie  Spaniards  of  Orinoco  a_G:ainst  the  Colony  f»f  Esquivo. 


Marquis  of  St.  Juan    de  Piedras  Albas,  Don  Estevan  Jose  de 

Abarca,  Don  I'hilipe  de  Arco,  Marquis  of  A'aldelirios,  Don 

Manuel   Pablo  de  Salccdo,  Don   Jose    Banfi,   Don    Marcos 

Ximeno,  l)()n.I)oiiiin,<j:o  de  'i'respaacios,  Marquis  de  Aranda, 

Don  Manuel  Pernardo  de  (^uiros,  Don  Pedro  Galderon. 

Sir  :  Tn    obedience  to  Plis  Majesty's  order,  the  Bailiff,  Er. 

Don  Julian    de  Arriaga,  sent  with  a  paper  dated  on  the  10th 

of  September  last,  a  despatch  that  the  Minister  of  Holland 

had  addressed,  com])laining  of  the  conduct  of  the  Spaniards 

esta])lished  in  the  Orinoco  against  the  Dutch  Colony  of  Esquivo, 

as  stateil  in  detail,  by  his  accoinj)anying  report,  with  a  view  to 

liavc  it  brietly   examined   by   the  Council   and   consult    His 

Majesty's  pleasure,  with  the  necessary  and  ])ropcr  remarks. 

The  Council,  in  consideration  of  what   lias  be(Mi  submitted 
by  the  Attorney  General    wiiose  original    general  answer  is 


169 

placed  in  the  hands  of  His  Majesty,  after  agreeing  with  his 
o])inion  for  the  reasons  he  states,  and  omitting  to  repeat  the 
same  so  as  not  to  overtax  the  Royal  attention  of  His  Majesty, 
considers  necessary,  before  extending  a  report,  to  have  on 
hand  and  examine  (among  other  documents,  added  to  the 
corresponding  proceedings  on  the  subject),  an  extensive  me- 
morial and  statement,  referred  to  in  another  printed  document, 
by  Captain  Isidro  de  Andrade,  sent  with  the  Royal  order  of 
the  3d  of  September,  1740,  addressed  to  this  Tribunal  and  ex- 
hibited before  the  same,  informing  of  his  having  stopped  the 
Caribs  in  their  ravages  per{)etrated,  while  allured  by  foreign 
help;  also  the  four  letters  noticed  to  have  been  received  in 
the  years  1757  or  1758,  written  at  the  settlement  of  Cabruta, 
by  the  chief  of  squadron  Don  Joseph  de  Iturriaga,  sent  on 
the  boundary  expedition  to  the  Orinoco;  one  in  wdiicli  he 
describes  the  rivers  flowing  into  it,  and  explains  the  con- 
dition of  those  Missions  and  their  neighboring  settlements, 
inhabitants,  etc. ;  another  letter  in  which,  according  to  his 
private  instructions  from  Don  Jose  de  Carbajal,  he  refers  to 
the  question  of  the  subsistence  or  demolition  of  the  Castle  of 
A  ray  a. 

Another  letter,  in  which  he  advises  his  having  received  in- 
telligence of  the  construction  of  a  fort  by  the  Hollanders,  on 
the  Maruca  (Moroco)  river,  at  a  short  distance  from  the  mouth 
of  Navios  of  the  Orinoco,  and  that  he  had  decided  to  send  a 
launch  to  examine  the  state  of  the  construction,  its  size,  artil- 
lery, etc.,  expressing  ni  conclusion  the  most  serious  inconven- 
ience that  might  be  originated  from  permitting  them  said 
construction  on  the  site  of  Maruca  ;  and  other  letter  in  which 
said  Iturriaga,  resuming  the  subject  of  his  previous  letter, 
alludes  to  the  pretensions  of  the  Hollanders  from  Esquivo  to 
the  Orinoco  river,  making  public  that  their  dominions  ex- 
tended to  the  moutli  of  Navios  or  grand  mouth  of  the  above- 
mentioned  Orinoco,  where  they  come  in  for  the  purpose  of 
fishing. 

The  report  made  in  the  year  1702  by  Captain  Don  Jose 
Solano  of  the  Navy  (to  whom  tiiose  letters  were  forwarded)  in 
reference  to  the  third  and  fourth  of  tlie  Esquivo  Hollanders' 


pretensions,  stated  that  tlirv  liad  iio  otliri-  tnuiKlatioii  than  the 
omission  and  neglect  of  the  Connnanders  of  (ruayana  in 
k'ttini;-  thciu  Hsh  at  the  mouth  of  the  Navios,  and  the  Barima 
and  A(iuii'c  livers — and  [\\r  answers  from  tlie  most  Christian 
Xing,  an<!  the  measures  adopted  by  that  Court,  on  aeeount  of 
having  submitted  to  the  Royal  consideration  of  your  August 
Father  (of  blessed  memory),  this  Tril)unal  in  the  C(Misnltation 
of  the  0th  of  Octo])er,  17(t"),  the  advices  received  from  the 
Covernor  of  Cumana,  Don  Joseph  Ramirez  de  Arellano,  about 
the  commerce  made  witli  the  (Tuarajiiehe  river  by  the  French- 
men from  Martinique,  not  only  in  wood,  hammocks  and  birds, 
but  likewise  in  Indian  slaves,  from  the  same  river  and  sea 
coasts  of  the  mainland,  under  the  allegation  of  considering 
said  land  as  vacant  and  outside  of  any  dominion,  not  having 
been  settled  by  the  Spaniards,  and  c(jnsidering  the  Indians  as 
savages — being  of  the  opinion  that  despatches  should  be  ad- 
dressed to  that  sovereign  with  the  purpose  of  forbidding 
strictly  the  introduction  of  his  subjects  in  (Tuara})iche,  and 
His  Majesty  was  kind  enough  to  resolve:  "  The  Ambassador 
of  the  King,  my  Grandfather,  has  been  charged  with  giving 
an  account  of  these  reports  and  give  me  notice  of  the  orders 
that  may  be  issued  in  France  on  the  subject."  And  in  con- 
sequence it  is  placed  ])efore  your  Majesty  and  the  Council,  so 
that  if  there  is  no  inconvenience  your  Majesty  call  on  the 
Secretary  of  State,  where  the  corresponding  papers  must  exist, 
so  as  to  communicate  their  contents  to  that  of  those  Kingdoms, 
anil  by  this  one  to  the  Council,  with  all  documents  and  reports 
in  connection  with  tlie  [)resent  matter  and  the  resolution  of 
His  Majesty  about  the  said  consultations  of  the  (ith  of  October, 
1705,  so  that  in  presence  of  all  that  has  been  shown  to  your 
Majesty,  the  Council  may  act  with  a  hdl  knowledge  of  the 
whole  important  case  of  this  absorbing  question. 

Your  Majesty  will  decide  what  may  be  your  pleasure  in  the 
premises. 

Madrid,  the  27th  of  October,  17<)0. 

(At  the  back  of  this  document  it  reads) :  Council  of  the  Indies, 
October  27th,  1709. — Approved  on  the  25th. — Reviewed — 
[there  is  a  linuri-h]. 


171 

The  foregoing  copy  agrees  with  its  original  existing  at  the 
General  Archives  of  the  Indies  at  Stand  131 — Case  7 — Docket 
17.     Seville,  December  16th,  1890. 

The  Chief  of  Archives. 

Carlos  Jimenez  Placer — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

[seal.] — General  Archives  of  the  Indies. 


The  undersigned,  Consul  General  of  Venezuela  in  Spain, 
certifies  to  the  authenticity  of  the  signature  of  Senor  Carlos 
Jimenez  Placer,  Chief  of  the.  General  Archives  of  the  Indies. 

Madrid,  December  31st,  1890. 

P.  Fortoult  Hurtado. 


The  undersigned.  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  of  the  United 
States  of  Venezuela,  certifies  to  the  authenticity  of  the  signa- 
ture of  Seiior  Pedro  Fortoult  Hurtado,  Consul  General  of 
Venezuela  in  Spain  at  the  preceding  date. 

Caracas,  March  (3th,  1896. 

P.  Ezequiel  Rojas. 

[seal.] — Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs. 


No.   XL 

^1  Translation.] 


Stand  131.— Case  7.  — Pocket  17. 
Gknkral    .AurmvES  of  thk   lNr)iES — (Skville. 


Document  No.  6. 


1  770.— L*'tt«'r  No.  i;j  fioni  th«'  Coiniii.niKlor  ol  <;iiayaiia, 
I>oii  Manuel  Centurion,  reporting;  011  tlu'  facts  toni- 
plaiiuMl  ofby  llic  ^liiiistcr  oi' 1I«»11aii(l  about  llie  coiuluct 
(►t  tlu'  S|>aiiiar<ls  ot  tlu'  Orinoco  atiaiiist  tlic  Colony  ot 
Esquivo.— (Jua^ana,  April  .">th,  177<). 


This  (locuinont  Inniis  a  part  of  the  }»i'(if(.cMlin';s  instituted  on 
account  of  the  chiini  of  the  Minister  of  Jlolhnuh  connihiinin^ 
of  the  conduct  (if  the  Spaninrds  of  Orinoco  against  the  Cohmy 
of  ICsCjuivo. 


1770— Xurnl)ei'  1:5— Most  Excelh'iit  Sir— 

Dear  Sir:  The  two  judicial  documents  ac-companied  will 
show  Your  Excellency,  duly  proved,  that  the  Director  of  the 
P^squivo  Colony,  Lorenzo  ITorni  van  Gravesand,  has  intended 
to  alarm  the  States-( Jeneral  with  the  impo.stures  on  which  tlie 
Kepuhlic  of  Holland  has  founded  its  com])laints  through  its 
M  ini.ster  in  Madrid,  on  account  oH  the  conduct  of  the  Spaniards 
of  (Jrii-oco  against  tliat  Colony. 

iVs  it  appears  in  part  No.  1  of  tlie  proceedings,  the  Hollanders 
are  not,  nor  ever  have  heen,  in  jtossession  of  the  rivers  nor  riv- 
ulets emptying  their  waters  into  the  sea  from  the  Esquivo  to 
the  ()rinoco,  nor  have  they  any  other  establishment  than  a 
Guard  and  a  straw-roofed  Barrack  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the 
Moruca  (Maroco)  river  that  has  been  tolerated  for  the  last 
twenty  years,  so  as  to  enalde  tliem  to  jtrc^vent  the  desertion  of 


their  slaves;  tliis  pretext  has  degenerated  immediately  after- 
wards into  the  most  iniquitous  commerce  carried  on  by  the 
barbarous  and  cruel  Caribs,  from  whom  they  buy  the  Indians 
enslaved,  by  means  of  surprising  and  killing  the  other  tribes 
living  freely  and  peacefully  within  the  King's  our  Lord's 
dominions. 

At  the  Cuyuni  river,  called  by  the  Hollanders  Cayoeny,  they 
have  no  other  possessions  than  a  plantation  at  its  mouth  in  the 
Esquivo,  as  they  were  stopped  when  they  intended  an  estab- 
lislnnent  fifteen  or  twenty  leagues  farther  up  said  river  in  the 
year  1747,  erecting  a  Barrack  and  Guard  Post  to  enslave  tiie 
Indians  of  our  territory  by  means  of  the  Caribs.  As  soon 
as  our  Missionaries  were  satisfied  of  the  fact  they  submitted 
the  case  to  the  Commander  of  Guayana,  and  this  officer  had 
them  dislodged  from  there  on  the  following  year  of  1757,, 
by  means  of  a  detachment,  who  set  fire  to  the  Barrack  and 
brought  as  prisoners  the  two  Hollanders,  the  negro,  and  the 
Caribs  that  he  found  there,  with  the  instructions  and  original 
report  showing  the  infamous  commerce  that  by  orders  of  the 
Directors  of  Esquivo,  and  for  a  vile  consideration,  was  carried 
out  by  that  Guard,  such  as  it  is  done  by  all  the  other  advanced 
Barracks  from  the  Colony,  bleeding  to  the  heart  the  center  of 
the  Province  of  Guayana.  Part  No.  2  shows  the  details  of  this 
journey,  by  which  it  is  plain  that  there  was  no  more  blood 
shed  than  that  of  two  of  our  soldiers,  one  of  whom  was  killed 
and  the  other  wounded. 

Part  No.  1  shows,  likewise,  that  the  Hollanders  are  not  in 
possession  of  the  Maserony  nor  of  the  other  rivers  emptying 
into  the  Esquivo  on  the  southwestern  bank  ;  and  it  is  import- 
ant to  remove  this  error,  forming  the  basis  of  their  unfounded, 
complaint,  for  as  the  Esquivo  runs  in  a  direction  about  parallel 
with  the  coast  of  the  ocean  from  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Corentin  until  it  reaches  the  seashore  forty-five  leagues  to  the 
east  of  the  Orinoco,  all  the  rivers  having  their  sources  in 
the  interior  of  our  Province  of  Guayana,  and  following  their 
direction  to  the  coast,  between  the  mouth  of  the  Corentin  and 
Esquivo,  meet  precisely  this  last  one,  which  runs  across  and 
takes  their  waters.     So  that  if,  as  the  Hollanders  suppose,  that 


171     • 

tLTritoi'v  enil)i-aeL'(l  \>y  the  livcr.-^  eiii}ttyiiig-  iiit<t  tliu  Ks(juivo. 
.such  as  Cuyuiii,  Mascroiiy,  Mao,  Apaiionv,  Putara,  and  otlicr 
minor  rivers  with  their  branches  and  I'ivulets,  were  territory 
of  the  Republic,  the  strangers  would  have  a  larger  portion 
than  the  King  our  Lord  in  the  Province  of  Guayana,  as  shown 
by  the  accompanying  sketch  that  I  have  drawn  with  every  pos- 
sible accuracy,  to  go  with  this  report,  pointing  out  in  yellow 
wiiat  part  in  my  judgment  may  the  Hollanders  pretend  l)y 
i-iglit  of  possesion  of  any  kind  acquired  until  to-day. 

The  .S})anish  detachment  that  Gravesand  claims  having 
advanced  last  year  from  the  Orinoco  to  the  Post  of  Cuyuni 
and  taken  many  Indians,  threatening  to  return  and  go  to  the 
Maserony  river,  to  arrest  a  party  of  Caribs,  go  down  the  river 
and  there  visit  the  Barrack  of  the  Company,  is  undoubtedly 
a  story  of  the  agents  in  Poytos  kept  around  there  b}'  the  Hol- 
landers, deeply  regretting  to  see  that  some  savage  Indians, 
both  Caribs  and  Guaicas,  living  in  that  neighborhood,  come  and 
.settle  in  our  Missions;  as  from  here  no  detachment  whatever 
has  left  for  those  rivers,  and  I  know  that  the  Catalan  Capuchin 
Fathers  have  received  in  their  settlements,  during  the  la.st  few 
years,  several  Indians  from  the  mountains  between  Cuyuni 
and  Maserony,  at  the  solicitation  of  the  same  Cari])s.  of  whom  we 
have  about  tive  thousand  in  our  settlements,  not  knowing  for 
the  last  twenty  years  of  our  Missions  until  now  that  this 
numerous  tribe  belonged  to  the  Dutch,  as  Gravesand  says,  nor 
that  those  mountains  form  a  part  of  the  territory  of  the  Re{)ub- 
lic,  becau.se  they  have  always  been  the  site  for  the  settlements 
under  the  Catalan  Capuchin  Father  Missioners  at  Guayana. 

The  two  houses  guarded  by  many  troops,  Your  Excellency 
will  see  by  part  No.  1,  that  consist  of  two  Indian  settlements 
founded  ])y  the  Catalan  Capuchin  Fathers  by  the  side  of  the 
Yurnai-i,  united  to  the  other  Missions  and  witliout  any  other 
Garrison  than  one  soldier  to  each  one,  for  the  escort  of  the  Mis- 
sioner  ;  being  likewi.se  false,  the  supi)0.sed  proximity  to  the  Bar- 
rack of  the  Company,  distant  over  seventy  leagues  of  a  bad  road. 

The  .seizure  of  the  Indians  from  Moruca  by  the  Spaniards, 
consists  in  the  fact  that  two  Catalan  Capuchins,  es(;orted  as 
customary,  entered  with  their  launch  from  the  Orinoco  to  the 


175 

Barima  river,  its  confluent,  in  quest  of  Indian  deserters  from 
the  Mission  in  their  charge,  and  having  found  them  dispersed 
through  those  creeks,  between  the  Guayne  and  Moruca  (a  con- 
tiguous territory  to  tlie  Orinoco  never  occupied  by  the  Hol- 
landers) gathering  Indians,  they  reached  the  Post  or  Barrack 
of  Moruca,  where  they  found  a  Dutch  Guard  who  had  en- 
slaved three  Indian  women  with  their  children,  who  had  been 
taken  away  through  the  mouths  of  the  Orinoco  ;  that  they  so 
represented  the  case  to  the  Reverend  Fathers,  who  brought 
them  back  to  the  Missions  without  the  least  harm  to  the  Hol- 
landers. On  the  contrary,  thinking  that  it  was  a  favor  to  the 
man  on  duty  at  the  Guard,  who  asked  for  a  paper  to  satisfy  the 
Director  of  Esquivo  of  the  case,  they  gave  him  a  certificate, 
being  moved  by  pity,  exceeding,  indeed,  the  terms  of  my  per- 
mission to  enter  that  port,  which  was  not  true,  as  the  passport 
I  gave  to  the  pilot  of  the  launch  was  not  extended  any  farther 
than  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  as  shown  by  Part  No.  1. 

The  Post  claimed  by  Gravesand  to  have  been  seized  by  the 
Spaniards  near  a  rivulet  to  the  south  of  the  Guayne  river,  be- 
tween the  latter  and  the  Povaron  river,  where  he  supposes  that 
the  company  had  been  tor  an  immemorial  time  in  possession 
of  a  place  of  commerce  and  Post,  depending  likewise  without 
any  contradiction  from  the  territory  of  the  Republic,  I  think 
is  the  one  abandoned  by  the  intruding  Dutchmen  at  the 
Barima  river,  in  the  year  1768,  when  they  ascertained,  tlirough 
their  friends,  the  Caribs,  that  our  corsair  launches  were  inspect- 
ing that  river,  as  one  of  the  most  important  flowing  into  the 
Orinoco,  although  in  order  to  diminish  its  importance  they 
call  it  a  rivulet,  and  the  Director  of  Esquivo  does  not  dare  to 
name  it,  so  as  not  to  declare  himself  a  usurper;  for  that  same 
reason  he  makes  himself  so  poor  in  memory  that  he  calls 
immemorial  this  establishment  only  two  years  old.  See  the 
evidence  of  this  fact  in  Part  No.  3. 

The  deaths  of  the  Guard  on  duty  at  the  Barrack  Arinda 
and  those  of  the  Caribs,  attributed  by  the  Director  of  Esquivo 
to  the  Spaniards,  are  impostures  without  any  foundation  in 
fact,  as  that  port  is  out  of  our  reach,  and  even  our  notice,  as  it 
is  shown  in  part  No.  1  and  the  accompanying  draft. 


170 

The  Spanianls  never  luive  disimlcMl  tlic  Hollanders'  right  to 
fish  at  the  niuiiihor  tie'  <)rin()e(>,  beeause  they  never  have 
attempted  it  before.  During  the  past  three  years,  in  whieh  I 
have  built  tiiree  corsair  launches  for  this  river,  twenty-three 
forrign  vessels  have  been  seized,  but  none  of  them  while  lish- 
ing,  certainly  not  to  our  knowledge.  I  have  not  heard  that 
the  Hollanders  have  had  possession  of  sucli  a  right  of  fishing, 
as  it  is  shown  in  part  No.  1.  I  have  found  only  one  instance 
of  a  small  schooner  and  two  Dutch  launches,  fishing  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Orinoco  and  the  Barima  rivers,  which  were 
seized  by  the  Spaniards  in  the  year  1760,  as  shown  in  Part 
No.  4. 

I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the  Hollanders  must  be  refused  and 
prevented  from  fishing,  on  account  of  the  abuse  liable  to  fol- 
low l)y  turning  the  franchise  into  an  illicit  traffic,  difiicult  to 
sto|)  and  most  injurious  to  the  Spanish  Provinces. 

Of  the  fugitive  slaves  coming  from  Esquivo  to  the  Orinoco, 
only  the  Indians  are  retained,  and  the  negroes  wdio  come  with 
the  purpose  to  become  Catholics,  as  it  appears  in  part  No.  5, 
according  to  the  orders  of  Ilis  Majesty.  The  other  negro 
slaves  who  desert  Ironi  Esquivo,  on  account  of  ill  treatment 
or  any  other  reason,  are  returned  to  their  masters  when 
claimed,  or  their  value  paid  to  them  in  cash,  when  they  appear 
satisfie(l  with  tlie  same,  as  shown  in  part  No.  6  and  other  acts 
existing  in  the  Royal  ofiices. 

It  is,  however,  remarked  that  from  the  time  that  the  Direc- 
tor of  Esquivo  a])pro[)riated  to  himself  the  two  negroes 
Ambrosio  and  Eraiicisco,  slaves  res[)ectively  of  Don  Thomas 
Fran([uiz  and  Augustina  de  Aroclia,  residents  of  Guayana,  who 
deserted  from  tiiis  city  and  were  sold  at  the  Colony  on  account 
and  for  the  per.sonal  benefit  of  Lorenzo  Van  Gravesand,  as  it 
is  shown  by  i)art  No.  l,he  has  not  formally  claimed  those 
slaves,  who  have  since  that  time  deserted  from  E.squivo  for  this 
Province,  nor  has  he  tried  to  collect  seven  hundred  and  sixty- 
two  dollars,  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  five  fugitive  slaves  formerly 
escaped  from  Esquivo,  retained  as  a  deposit  to  be  paid  by  the 
lioyal  Treasury  to  the  interested  parties,  by  order  of  Don  Mateo 
dual  and  Don  .Josei)li  Diguja,  Governors  of  Cumana,  as  shown 


177 

ill  part  No.  1.  However,  it  is  true  that  Nicolas  de  Lassarie, 
Police  Secretary  of  the  Esquivo  Colony,  came  and  gave  a  power 
of  attorney,  on  the  8th  of  September.  1766,  to  Don  Vicente 
Franco,  domiciled  in  Guayana,  to  prosecute  the  claim  and 
consent  to  the  sale  of  thirt\'-eiglit  negro  slaves,  who  at  that 
time  deserted  from  the  Colony  and  came  to  this  Province. 
The  proceedings  of  this  case  are  still  pending  on  account  of 
the  death  of  Lassarie  and  the  expiration  of  the  power  of  attor- 
ney given  by  him  to  Franco.  The  successors  have  not  put  in 
an  appearance,  most  likely  fearing  that  we  should  appropriate 
to  ourselves  their  negroes,  just  as  the  Director  of  the  Esquivo 
did  with  those  of  Franquiz  and  Arocha,  runaways  from  Guay- 
ana. The  proceeds  of  the  twenty-nine  slaves  and  seven  hun- 
dred and  sixty-two  dollars,  before  mentioned,  have  been  ex- 
pended in  meeting  the  payment  of  the  troops  organized  by  my 
predecessor,  Don  Joacpiin  Moreno,  who  up  to  this  time  had  not 
been  paid  at  Santa  Fe  of  what  is  due  him  from  tlie  year  1764 
to  1768.  Now,  we  want,  on  this  particuhxr,  to  hear  from  His 
Majesty  about  how  to  pay  the  interested  parties,  after  the  claim 
by  the  Minister  of  Holland. 

As  to  the  charge  that  the  Spaniards  have  induced  the 
Esquivo  slaves  to  run  away,  there  is  no  proof  whatever,  nor  is 
it  likely  that  any  person  would  be  wilhng  to  take  the  risk  of 
such  a  perilous  attempt  without  any  other  inducement  than 
doing  good  to  the  negroes.  Gravesand  does  not  give  a  single 
instance,  nor  name  any  person,  and  he  speaks  in  general  terms, 
showing  no  proof  against  what  appears  on  this  subject  in  part 
No.  1,  nor  of  the  building  of  strong  forts  so  near  the  territory  of  the 
Republic,  the  attacks  of  the  barracks  of  the  Company,  and  killing 
of  guards,  as  stated  at  the  end  of  the  Deputies'  (to  the  States- 
General)  representation. 

As  your  Majesty  calls  for  my  opinion  on  the  subject,  I  shall 
have  to  state  that  the  most  precious  possessions  of  any  country 
are  the  sea  coasts,  and  more  especially  so  in  their  dominions 
across  the  sea,  tliat  might  be  worthless  without  the  means  of 
disposing  of  their  inUmd  products.  In  the  vast  Province  of 
Gunyana,  so  fertile  and  advantageously  situated,  all  the  coasts 
are  occupied  by  strangers,  and  there  is  only  left  for  the  Span- 

VoL.  II,  Ven.— 12 


178 

iai'ds,  at  one  cikI  <•!'  the  same,  tlio  iiKnitli  of  tlic  ()riiiMC(i  to 
reach  the  sea.  Tlic  1  lolhiinlcrs  ;irc  in  po-session  of  the  han- 
diest coasts  of  this  extensi\T  country,  l)ecanse  they  receive  the 
waters  of  the  navigable  rivers  reaching-  tlie  innermost  and 
most  productive  part  of  Guayana.  Therefore  our  policy  ought 
to  aim  at  the  destruction  of  tlie  Dutch  Colony,  beginning  by 
that  of  Esquivo  and  then  iollowing  with  I)emorari,  Berbis, 
Coi'entin,  up  to  Surinam. 

There  are  two  ('(Heient  ways  to  attain  that  end.  The  first 
is  to  j)rotect  and  free  all  the  fugitive  slaves  I'rom  said  Colony, 
as  it  is  done  at  Caracas  with  those  from  Cui'ac^-ao,  who  are  not 
in  need  as  much  as  the  other  Colonies  of  the  free  use  of  the 
Catholic  religion,  for  wliieh  our  neighbors  take  no  pains,  al- 
lowing their  slaves  to  live  as  geritiles.  The  second  is  to  or- 
ganize a  fixed  l)atallion  of  infantry,  so  as  to  protect  the  fron- 
tiers and  the  strongholds  at  the  head  rivers  of  the  l]squivo. 
The  project  only  will  deter  the  Holhmders  and  embarrass 
their  usurpation  of  I'urther  territories  than  what  they  possess 
at  present,  besides  stopping  their  traffic  in  Indians,  ]*oytos  or 
slaves,  that  if  continued  will  leave  our  lands  uninhabited, 
while  theirs  will  be  extensively  cultivated.  We  ought  to  fa- 
cilitate the  escape  of  the  Indians,  whom  they  have  enslaved, 
and  of  the  negroes,  who  are  more  expensive  to  them,  and 
whom  they  would  not  dare  to  purchase  for  the  risk  of  losing 
them. 

The  want  of  both  kinds  of  laborers  will  discourage  our 
Dutch  neighbors  from  taking  our  land,  while  we  are  strong 
and  they  can  not  help  it.  This  increase  of  troops  can  not  be 
excessive,  con.sidering  that  we  are  bound  to  settle  and  defend 
this  country,  and  that  it  is  very  expensive  to  accomplish  that 
j)Uri)()Se,  and  that  soldiers  will  be  the  source  of  ])0sitive  ad- 
vantages; their  money  attracts  laboi'crs  and  mechanics  of  all 
trades  to  the  countrv,  who,  as  well  as  the  soldiers,  marry  In- 
dian wives,  the  only  race  to  l)e  had  in  the  countrv.  and  this 
alliance  with  the  Indians  facilitatt's  their  reiluction  ;ind  the 
readiest  and  least  expensive  po])ulation  of  these  deserts.  A 
soldier,  as  a  young  man  and  single,  is  easily  mustered  in  tlie 
service  and  carried  to  the  neighboring  Province,  while  a  whole 


179 

family  is  not  so,  as  it  is  shown  by  tlie  experience  I  have  on 
the  subject,  finding  tliis  method  of  popuUition  preferaljle,  and 
more  advantageous  than  the  one  })racticed  in  tlie  IsLnnd  of 
Santo  Domingo  and  other  Provinces  of  America,  carrying 
wliole  families  from  the  Canary  Islands  and  other  places,  and 
being  bound  to  furnish  them  with  the  necessary  means  of  sup- 
port, at  least  for  one  year.  Among  the  fortresses  that  must  be 
built  one  must  be  erected  at  Barima,  to  the  windward  of  the 
mouth  of  Navios,  fronting  the  north  with  a  wooden  lodging- 
house,  very  high,  of  the  kind  of  the  Balize  at  the  Mississippi, 
as  the  land  is  low  and  marshy.  From  this  establishment  in 
■effective  j^ossession  we  will  keep  a  closer  lookout  for  the  Hol- 
landers. We  will  stop  them  by  all  means,  and  we  shall 
have  a  good  watch  on  the  sea,  and  a  sentinel  on  the 
Barima  river,  the  chief  avenue  of  the  Esquivo  Colony  to 
Orinoco.  A  Balize  is  necessary  to  enable  our  vessels  to  as- 
certain the  location  of  the  large  mouth  of  Orinoco,  concealed 
by  the  sea  for  want  of  proper  marks,  and  the  occasion  for 
painful  and  difficult  tackings,  on  account  of  the  strong  cur- 
rent of  those  waters  to  the  leeward  that  can  not  be  ascer- 
tained by  navigators  unacquainted  with  said  mouth  always, 
for  fear  of  the  low  ground  and  perils  of  that  coast  outside  the 
channel  of  the  river.  Finally,  such  a  Post  will  make  useless 
the  one  held  by  the  Hollanders  at  Moruca,  for  the  purpose  of 
preventing  the  escape  of  the  Poytos  or  slaves,  by  arresting 
those  coming  after  them  in  their  escape,  who  sometimes  reach 
as  far  as  the  Orinoco,  under  the  impression  tliat  we  are  forty- 
nine  leagues  away  from  the  mouth,  as  it  is  the  case  at  present. 

The  means  I  have  proposed,  or  other  equivalent  methods,  to 
make  opulent  and  formidable  this  Province  shall  not  be  use- 
less, if  well  directed,  as  it  is  shown  by  part  No.  8,  noticing  like- 
wise the  opportunity  of  the  present  time  to  accomplish  now, 
within  a  few  years,  what  has  not  been  done  in  over  two  cen- 
turies. 

May  Our  Lord  keep  in  His  Holy  Guard  the  precious  life  of 
Your  Excellency,  for  many  hapj^y  years,  as  it  is  my  desire  and 
our  want  of  a  wise  and  prudent  Ministry. 

Guayana,  April   5tli    of  1770. — Most   Excellent   Sir. — Kiss 


l.SI) 

tlic  hands  o'"  your  Exci'llency.     Yuur  liumblcst  and  olx-dicnt 
servant. 

l)(iN   ^rAXCKi.  ( 'i:.\"T(i;i(iX — [hero  is  a  fldurisli]. 

Most  Excellent  liailill' 

Fr.  Don  Julian  dv  Arriaua- 


The  foregoing  copy  agrees  with  the  original  document  exist- 
ing at  the  General  Archives  of  the  Indies,  in  Stand  131 — Case 
7_Docket  17— Seville,  December  0th,  1890. 

The  Chief  of  Archives. 

Carlos  Jimenez  Placek — [here  is  a  llourish]. 

[seal.] — General  Archives  of  the  Indies. 


The  undersigned,  Consul  General  of  Venezuela  in  Spain, 
certifies  to  the^  authenticity  of  the  signature  of  Senor  Carlos 
Jimenez  Placer,  Chief  of  the  (xcneral  Archives  of  the  Indies. 

.Madrid,  December  24th,  1890. 

P.  FOKTOULT  HUIITADO. 


The  undersigned,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  of  the  ('iiiti'd 
States  of  Venezuela,  certifies  to  the  authenticity  of  the  signa- 
ture of  Seiior  Pedro  Fortoult  Hurtado,  Consul  General  of 
Venezuela  in  Spain  at  the  preceding  date. 

Caracas,  March  r,th,  1800. 

P.     K/AKiyiKl.     Ko.TAS. 

[si:  VI..] — Ministry  of  Foreign  Alfair-. 


ISl 
INo.  XIT. 

Stand  131, — Case  7. — Docket  17. 
General  Archives  of  the  Indies. — (Seville- 


Doemneiit  No.  1. 


17  70. — Keport  of  the  Coinnianrter  of  Ouayana  about  the 
oomplaiut  of  the  Minister  of  Holland  iu  regard  to  the 
conduct  of  the  Spaniards  of  the  Orinoco  river  against 
the  Esquivo  Colony. 

(This  document  is  the  part  No.  1,  accompanied  by  Don  .Manuel  Centurion  with 
bis  letter  No.  13  of  the  5th  of  April,  1770. ) 


This  document  is  a  part  of  the  proceedings  instituted  on 
account  of  the  claim  of  the  Minister  of  Holland  complaining 
of  the  conduct  of  the  Spaniards  of  Orinoco,  against  the 
Esquivo  Colony. 


Year  1770. — Proceedings  instituted  before  the  Tribunal  of  the 
Commander  of  Guayana,  on  the  subjects  of  the  complaint 
submitted  to  the  King  our  Lord  by  the  Minister  of  the  Re- 
public of  Holland,  in  regard  to  the  conduct  of  the  Spaniards 
of  Orinoco,  against  the  Esquivo  Colony. 

Numher  1. 

[Copy.] 

Copy  taken  from  the  book  of  Resolutions  of  the  plenipo- 
tentiaries (Deputies)  of  the  States-General  of  the  United 
Provinces. 

AVednesday,  August  the  second,  seventeen  hundred  and 
sixt)^-nine. 


182 

It  lias  luaMi  read  l)(,'lV)i'o  tlio  Assembly,  the  representation  of 
the  Deputies  of  His  ]\[ost  Serene  Highness,  the  Prince  of 
Orange  and  Nassau  and  Directors  of  the  patented  Company 
of  the  West  Indies  and  Presidial  Ciiambers  of  Zeland,  having 
in  their  charge,  on  account  of  this  general  Company,  the  ])ar- 
ticular  direction  of  the  Esquivo  Colony  and  rivers  dependent 
on  the  same,  and  in  that  capacity  they  represent,  that  tliey 
had  licen  from  tiiur  almo'^t  ininiemoi'ial  in  possession  not  only 
of  the  Esquivo  river,  and  many  other  I'ivers  and  rivulets, 
emptying  into  the  sea  on  the  length  of  that  part  of  the  country, 
but  likewise  of  all  the  river  branches  and  i-ivulets  eniptying 
into  the  Esquivo,  and  particularly  the  northern  branch  called 
Cayoeny,  where  from  immemorial  time,  on  the  bank  of  the 
said  river  Cayoeny  considered  as  part  of  the  State,  a  wooden 
Barrack  or  Guard  Post  has  been  kept,  like  many  others  of  thi§ 
Colony,  on  the  part  of  the  Com]>any,  protected  by  a  small 
vessel  served  by  several  slaves  and  Indians. 

That  while  things  were  in  this  condition  the  exponents, 
after  all  that  took  place  in  1759,  had  received  with  astonish- 
ment, through  a  letter  from  Lorenzo  Horm  de  S.  (Jravesand, 
Director  General  of  Esquivo,  dated  r»n  the  l»tli  of  February 
last,  the  report  that  a  Spanish  detachment,  coming  from  the 
Orinoco,  had  advanced  to  that  Post  and  taken  many  Indians, 
threatening  with  their  return  at  the  first  high  tide  to  visit 
another  branch  of  the  Esquivo  river  called  Maseroeny,  situated 
between  this  and  the  Cayoeny  river,  that  is  also  a  part,  with- 
out contradiction,  of  the  territory  of  the  Republic,  to  take  like- 
wise a  party  of  the  Carib  trilje,  allied  to  the  IIolland(M-s  and 
l)el()nging  to  them  in  some  way,  and  thence  to  comedown  the 
Maserony  river  and  visit  there  the  Barrack  of  the  Com])any, 
as  the  plenipotentiaries  might  see  in  a  cop}'  of  said  letter, 
marked  with  the  letter  A,  and  accompanying  this  representa- 
tion. Said  letter  contains,  at  the  same  time,  a  report  of  the 
provisional  measures  of  the  Director  General  to  prevent  it. 
That  the  exponents  had  not  taken  the  whole  thing  but  as 
idle  threats,  similar  to  Ibrmer  expressions,  without  effect. 
Xothwithstanding,  said  Director  (xeneral  had  reported  to  them 
by  a  letter  of  Febiuai-y  the    'Jlst,  ITbO,  copy  of  which   is  })ro- 


183 

duced  herewith  and  marked  witli  the  letter  B,  that  the  Span- 
iards had  built  two  houses,  guarded  by  many  troops,  one  of 
which  was  in  close  proximity  to  the  said  Barrack  of  the  Com- 
pany, on  the  Cayoeny  river,  but  apparently  in  their  own  ter- 
ritor3%  the  other  higher  up,  on  the  margin  of  the  rivulet 
emptying  into  the  same  river;  that  if  there  was  any  possibil- 
ity of  an  attack,  on  the  part  of  the  Spaniards  in  time  of  peace, 
it  ought  to  be  expected  from  that  side  and  use  due  precau- 
tions, taking  into  account  what  the  Director  General  had  writ- 
ten before  in  his  letter  of  tb-e  3d  of  March  last,  a  copy  of  which 
is  marked  with  the  letter  C,  accompanying  the  representa- 
tion ;  but  the  exponents  had  been  informed,  to  their  great 
surprise,  by  a  letter  of  the  Director  General  addressed  to  his 
son-indaw,  the  Commander  of  Demerari,  and  forwarded  origi- 
nally by  the  same,  a  copy  of  which  is  presented,  marked  with  the 
letter  D,  that  the  Spaniards  had  commenced  to  seize  the 
Maroco  Indians  and  take  [)ossession  of  the  port  of  the  Com- 
pany, situated  near  a  rivulet  to  the  south  of  the  Weyne  river, 
between  this  one  and  that  of  Pomaron,  where  the  Company 
had  had  likewise,  from  time  immemorial,  a  place  of  commerce 
and  a  Post,  depending  without  contradiction  from  the  Re- 
public. 

That  the  ex|)onents  had  received  the  confirmation  of  this 
news  by  the  triplicate  of  a  letter  from  the  Director  General, 
dated  March  the  loth  ultimo,  the  original  of  which  had  been 
forwarded  b}^  way  of  the  Island  of  Barbadoes,  and  the  dupli- 
cate by  that  of  Surinam,  but  had  not  reached  them  yet.  From 
the  triplicate,  a  copy  of  which  is  produced  likewise,  marked 
with  the  letter  C,  condensed  details  will  be  found  of  the  con- 
duct of  the  Spaniards  and  how  the  Guard  of  the  place  had 
acted,  as  well  as  the  measures  taken  by  the  Director  General 
provisionally,  and  everything  done  after  the  full  confirmation 
of  the  facts,  as  shown  by  the  annexes  marked  with  the  let- 
ters F  and  G,  that  one  was  a  copy  of  the  report  sent  by  the 
Guard  on  duty  at  the  Moroco  Barrack  to  the  Director  General, 
dated  on  the  7th  of  last  March,  and  another  copy  of  a  state- 
ment in  writing  from  the  two  Capuchin  Fathers,  who  had 
attended  this  expedition,  and  given  the  same  to  the  officer  on 


184 

duty,  in  the  Spanish  language,  and  had  not  been  translated 
for  want  of  an  opportunity.  Said  documents,  His  Most  Serene 
Highness,  the  Prince  of  (.)range  and  Nassau,  had  kindly  com- 
niiniieati'd  t(»  the  I'-xpoiicnts,  who  observe  that  they  wen-  duly 
forwarded  with  the  originals,  ami  duplicate  cojiies  of  which 
had  not  yet  been  recoiveil. 

That  the  exponents  liad  l)eeii  inf'onued,  through  this  tripli- 
cate, that  tlie  Sjianiai'ds  (if  the  ( )rinoco  river  had  kille(l  or 
caused  to  lie  kille(l  by  a  tribe  under  them,  the  (iuard  on  duty 
at  the  Ariuda  l>arraek.  belonging  to  this  company  and  situ- 
uated  towards  tlie  sources  of  the  Esquivo  river,  as  well  as 
all  the  Caribs  in  that  neighborhood.  After  that  incident  the 
Chief  of  the  Caribs  had  appeared  before  the  Director  General 
and  obtained  permission  to  take  revenge  for  the  death  of  his 
companions  and  attack  their  murderers,  as  the  plenipotentiaries 
might  see  in  the  accomj)anying  letter,  marked  letter  H,  a  sec- 
ond copy  of  the  same  letter  tVom  the  al)0ve  mentioned  director, 
dated  on  the  J oth  of  last  Ahirch.  That  although  the  exponents 
might  have  received  at  the  same  time  the  triplicate  alluded  to 
by  said  letter  of  March  the  15th,  another  letter  of  the  same 
Director  General,  dated  on  the  4th  of  last  April,  made  no  men- 
tion whatever  of  any  subsequent  occurrence,  on  the  part  of  the 
Spaniards,  and  only  contained  a  report  of  all  the  measures 
taken  in  order  to  opjtose  their  i)lans,  the  exponents  had  thought 
notwithstanding  that  they  ought  not  to  be  silent  with  respect 
to  this  particular  feature,  Ijut  specify  the  same  and  sui^mit  it 
to  the  consideration  of  the  ph'nipotentiaries,  entertaining  no 
doubts  that  said  highhanded  otfences  siiould  be  resented  and 
that  the  most  etlicient  rc]»resentations  should  l)e  made  against 
sucdi  a  nianitest  violation  of  the  national  territory. 

That  the  ex})Onents  can  not  refrain  ivtnu  laying  before  the 
j)lenipotentiaries,  on  this  occasion,  the  lact  that  the  Orinoco 
parties  had  not  only  commenced,  some  time  since,  to  dispute  to 
tho.se  of  Esquivo  the  fi.sheries  at  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  but 
had  elfectually  sto{)ped  it,  notwithstanding  that  the  Esquivo 
parties  had  been  for  a  long  time  in  a  (piiet  and  j)eaccful 
possession  of  said  fisheries,  of  which  they  derived  great  benefit, 
on  account  of  the  almndanee  of  fish  found  there  :  that  thev  had 


185 

likewise  commenced  to  stop,  by  force,  the  fislieries  of  the 
Orinoco,  within  the  same  territory  of  the  State,  a  territory  tliat 
extends  fro  m  the  Marenigue  River  (?)  to  the  other  side  of  the 
AVayne,  very  near  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  as  may  be  seen  in 
the  geographical  charts  of  these  places,  and  particularly  by  that 
of  Anville,  one  of  the  most  esteemed,  on  account  of  its  accuracy, 
and  that  the  plenipotentiaries  will  find  the  evidence  of  all 
these  damages  in  document  marked  letter  Y,  articles  1,2,  3, 
that  are  copies  of  the  letter  of  the  Director  General,  dated 
Sei  tember  15, 1768,  February  the  21st,  and  April  the  4th,  1769. 

That   the  exponents  can  not  refrain  from  bringing  to  the 

notice  of  the  plenipotentiaries  this  conduct,  not  only  contrary 

to  all  the  treaties,  but  likewise  to  the  law  of  nations;  that  the 

Orinoco  parties  have    retained  the  fugitive  slaves  from  the 

Colony,  inducing  them  to  escape,  and  doing  great  injury  to  the 

planters  of  all  the  Colony,  and  that  notwith.standing  the  formal 

■claim  of  the  owners  and  the  deputations  sent,  every  effoit  has 

proved  ineffectual 

If  this  desertion  continues  and  is  not  stopped  in  time,  it  will 
bring  about  the  total  ruin  of  Esquivo,  through  the  agency  of 
the  Spaniards  and  the  facilities  afforded  by  the  two  houses 
already  mentioned,  so  near  the  territory  of  the  Republic,  hav- 
ing attacked  the  Barracks  of  the  Company,  killed  the  Guard- 
men,  as  the  plenipotentiaries  may  see  in  the  two  accompanying- 
copies,  one  marked  with  the.  letters  Y  C,  in  articles  first  and 
second,  and  the  other  with  the  letters  P  D,  being  copies  of  the 
letters  before  mentioned  by  the  Director  General,  under  dates 
of  9th  and  21st  of  February  and  the  3d  of  last  March. 

Tiie  exponents  crave,  that  en  account  of  all  these  injuries 
necessarily  following,  as  the  natural  results  of  the  above  conduct 
^nd  its  progress,  the  plenipotentiaries  kindly  address  what  has 
been  represented  on  the  31st  of  July,  1779,  a  copy  of  this  rep- 
resentation, and  annexes  to  Mr.  Doublet  de  Groenevelt,  Envoy 
Extraordinary  of  the  Plenipotentiaries  near  His  Catholic  Maj- 
esty, directing  him  to  make  the  necessary  representation,  lay- 
ing the  facts  before  the  Court  of  Spain. 

After  paying  due  consideration  to  the  subject  it  was  resolved 
to  send  a  copy  of  this  representation  and  the  accompanying 


180 

documents  to  Mr.  I'lKiMct  do  Groenevelt,  Envo}' Extraordi- 
nnry  tVnin  tlic  plniijxjtentiaries  before  tlif  ^'niii-t  of  Spain, 
Avriting  to  liiin  at  tlu'  same  time  and  asking  him  to  report  tlie 
facts  and  the  hiuh-handed  offences  to  whomsoever  he  tliiiiks 
fit,  showing-  the  misconduct  and  asking  for  a  prompt  reme<iy 
against  the  hostilities  already  ])erpetrated  and  the  re-establish- 
ment of  the  parties  concerned  to  the  peaceful  possession  of  said 
Barracks  and  likewise  the  fisheries  in  the  places  already  men- 
tioned, and  tinally  to  urge  the  necessary  measures  to  i)revent 
the  rejietition  of  the  conduct  complained  of,  and  to  see  that 
the  Court  of  Spain  issue  the  necessary  orders  to  restore  the 
fugitive  slaves  from  Esquivo,  witliout  dehiy,  at  the  first  claim, 
and  avoid  injury  and  ex])enses  to  the  owners,  delivering  those 
still  kept  l)y  the  Spaniards  or  wlio  may  desert  in  future,  in 
which  case  the  i)leni})otentiaries  will  send  similai-  onlers  to 
the  Colony  of  Esquivo. 
[A  cojiy  from  the  original.] 

The  Minister  of  JloUand  has  aiUIressed  a  desi)ateh  eomphiin- 
ing  of  the  conduct  of  the  Spaniards  established  in  Orinoco 
against  the  Esquivo  Colony,  giving  a  detailed  account  of  the 
subject  of  his  complaint  in  the  accompanying  papers.  1  am 
directed  by  the  King  to  send  you  said  document,  so  that  in 
view  of  his  complaints,  you  will  make  your  ri  port,  as  soon  as- 
po.ssible,  stating  all  the  facts  referred  to,  and  what  has  occurred 
concerning  this  matter,  so  tliat  His  Majesty  be  fully  posted. 

.May  the  Lord  keep  your  life  for  many  years. 

San  Idefonso,  the  23(1  day  of  September,  ITOi-). 
The  Bailiff  Fr. 

Jii.i.ix   \)E  Ai;i;i.\(.A  —  [here  is  a  floui'isli]. 

To  the  Commander  of"(fUavana. 


In  the  city  of  (iuayana,  on  the  24tli  day  of  March,  of  the 
year  of  1770,  J,  Don  ^hmuel  Centurion,  Lieutenant  Colonel  of 
Infantry,  and  Commander  General  of  the  Orinoco  and  of  the 
Li'ovince  of  (Juayana,  etc.,  in  company  with  the  acting  wit- 
nesses, for  want  of  a  Notary  Public,  say  that  in  order  to  coni})ly 


187 

with  the  Royal  Order  of  the  23d  of  September  last,  forwarded 
to  me  by  His  Excellency  the  Baliff,  Fr.  Don  Julian  de  Airiaga^ 
accompanying  a  copy  of  another  document,  taken  from  the 
book  of  Resolutions  of  the  plenipotentiaries  of  the  States-Gen- 
eral of  the  United  Provinces,  presented  by  the  Minister  of  Hol- 
land, complaining  of  the  condnct  of  the  Spaniards  of  Orinoco 
against  the  Esquivo  Colony,  with  instructions  from  the  King 
to  rejDort,  as  early  as  possible,  upon  the  facts  complained  of, 
stating  what  has  taken  place  and  everything  concerning  that 
subject,  for  the  notice  of  His  Majesty. 

Therefore  I  ought  to  command,  and  do  command,  that  in- 
serting the  said  Royal  Order  and  accompanying  document  at 
the  head  of  the  proceedings,  an  investigation  be  instituted  by 
this  Tribunal  in  a  judicial  form,  to  find  out  the  facts  and  de- 
tails in  connection  with  the  accompanying  paper  from  the 
States-General,  summoning  the  best  informed  witnesses  (resid- 
ing in  this  city  and  its  suburbs)  to  state  under  oath  and  in 
due  form  what  they  know  on  this  subject. 

It  was  so  ruled  and  signed  with  the  acting  witnesses,  who 
cert  if}'  as  to  the  fact. 

Don  Manuel  Centurion — [here  is  a  flourish.] 
EsTEBAN  Martinez — [here  is  a  flourish.] 
Diego  Ignacio  Marino — [here  is  a  flourish.] 


On  the  same  day,  month,  and  year,  in  order  to  carry  out 
the  investigation  to  be  instituted,  in  compliance  with  the 
above  rule  the  Tribunal  had  before  it  the  Reverend  Father 
ex-Prefect  of  the  Catalan  Capuchin  Mission  of  Guayana,  Fr. 
Benito  de  la  Garriga,  to  whom  the  Commander  General  ad- 
ministered the  oath  in  legal  form,  tado  pedore  in  verbo  saccrdotis, 
and  promised  to  tell  the  truth  of  everything  that  he  knew  and 
were  interrogated,  and  having  been  examined  by  the  tenor  of 
the  above  paper,  presented  by  the  Minister  of  Holland  and 
inserted  in  folios  1  to  6  of  this  proceeding,  which  was  read  to 
him  literally,  he  said  : 

That  the  Hollanders  are  not,  nor  have  ever  been  in  posses- 
sion of  the  rivers  or  rivulets  emptying  into  the  sea,  from  Es- 


188 

quivo  exclusivf  dnwn  lo  the  iiiDUth  nt'  (  )riii<ie() :  that  tliey  liad 
been  only  tolcratcil,  ow  tliat  side,  tn  have  a  small  Guard  of 
two  Europeans  and  a  tVw  Indians  at  a  Barrack  called  the 
Post,  on  the  eastern  nniriiin  of  the  Moruca  river,  called  by  the 
Iliilhmdci-s  Mai'oco:  that  this  establishment  is  not  of  ''an 
almost  iiiiiiiciiKirial  tiiiif,""  beeanse  none  of  the  Colony  is  so, 
for  we  know  that  said  ('ohmy  e(ininiencc(l  to  exist  towards  the 
year  sixteen  hundred  and  hfiy-nine.  That  it  is  not  true  that 
the  Hollamlers  had  had,  nor  have  now  possession  of  the  Cu- 
yuni  river  (calleil  by  them  Cayoeny),  because  when  they  estab- 
lished a  (xuard  and  Barrack,  like  thrd  of  Mai'uea.  in  the  year 
seventeen  hundred  and  iorty -seven  (1747),  to  facilitate  the  in- 
human traffic  and  ca))ture  of  Indians,  whom  they  surrepti- 
tiously enslaved,  within  the  dmninious  of  the  Kinj^  our  Lord, 
for  the  culture  of  tlie  plantations  and  improvement  of  their 
•Colony,  as  soon  as  it  came  to  our  knowledoe,  in  the  year  sev- 
enteen hundred  and  tifty-seven  (1757),  they  were  dislodged 
from  there,  so  that  neither  in  the  Cuyuni,  Maserony,  AjDa- 
nony  nor  any  other  rivers  eini)tyino:  into  the  Esquivo,  have 
the  Hollanders  any  posst'ssion  ;  nor  it  could  be  tolerated  that 
they  should  have  it,  because  those  rivers  embrace  almost  all 
the  territory  of  the  Province  of  Guayana  in  their  course  from 
their  western  termini,  where  their  headwaters  oriejinate,  down 
to  the  eastern  limit  emj)tyin<;-  into  the  Es(iuivo  I'iver.  From 
that  fancied  possession  it  should  result  that  the  Hollanders 
would  be  the  owners  of  the  extensive  Province  of  (huiyana 
and  that  we,  the  S])aniards,  had  no  more  part  of  it  than  the 
said  margin  of  ()rinoeo,  which  is  an  absurdity. 

That  they  are  merely  tolerated  on  the  banks  of  the  Esquivo 
river,  i-unning  from  southeast  to  northwest,  almost  parallel 
with  the  ocean  coast,  the  eastern  tenninu'^  of  tliis  Province  of 
CJuayana,  the  interior  of  which  is  left  free  to  the  8]ianiards, 
their  lawful  jiossessors. 

That  he  does  not  know,  nor  ever  iicard  that  the  Spaniards 
have  built  any  stronghold  on  the  Cuyuni  river  nor  in  its 
vicinity,  with  a  few  nor  many  troops,  but  he  suspects  that  Mr. 
de  Gravesand  may  have  imagined  to  be  so  the  two  Missions 
or    Indian    settlements    founded     by    the    Catalan    Capuchin 


189 

Fathers  in  the  years  seventeen  hundred  and  fifty-seven  and 
seventeen  hundred  and  sixty,  one  of  them  on  the  northern 
margin  of  tiie  Yuruari  river,  a  tributary  of  the  Guyuni,  sevent}- 
leagues  distant  from  the  Dutch  Barrack,  which  was  destroyed. 

That  the  reason  he  lias  to  think  so  is  because  there  is  no 
other  establishment  in  that  vicinity  and  in  that  direction. 

T.hat  although  there  is  no  more  troops  than  one  sohiier  in 
each  one  of  said  settlements  as  an  escort  to  the  Missionaries, 
the  Caribs,  wliom  Mr.  Gravesand  seems  to  believe,  as  he  states 
in  his  report,  may  have  deceived  him  with  this  story  as  well 
as  several  others  which  abound  in  his  nonsensical  report. 

That  it  is  true  that  in  Februar}^  of  last  year  the  witness,  as 
Prefect  and  Superior  of  the  Missions,  allowed  permission  to 
the  Reverend  Fathers  Fr.  Josef  Antonio  Cervera  and  Fr.  Felix 
de  Tartaga  to  go  down  to  the  mouth  of  Orinoco  and  the  Barina 
rivers  to  gather  the  fugitive  Aruaca  and  Guarauno  Indian 
deserters  from  the  Missions,  under  tlieir  charge ;  that  these 
Reverend  Fathers,  with  the  launch  and  escort  which  carried 
them,  found  their  dispersed  Indians  between  Guayne  and 
Moruca,  and  while  gatheringt  hem  the}^  reached  a  Post  where 
there  was  a  Hollander  who  had  three  Indian  women  with 
their  children  whom  he  had  enslaved  and  taken  from  the 
mouth  of  Orinoco,  as  said  women  reported  to  the  Fathers,  who 
delivered  them  to  the  Missions,  without  offering  any  violence 
nor  harm  whatever  to  the  Hollanders. 

That  in  regard  to  the  Post  and  commei'cial  house  that 
Gravesand  supposes  to  have  been  j)0ssessed  by  the  Dutch  Com- 
pany, between  Guayne  and  Povaron,  the  deponent  does  not 
know  anything,  nor  has  he  heard  of  such  an  establishment. 

That  he  has  not  heard  of  the  death  of  the  Corporal  of  the 
Arinda  barrack  towards  the  source  of  the  Esquivo,  nor  even 
of  the  existence  of  the  same. 

That  he  finds  it  incredible  that  the  Spaniards  of  Orinoco,  or 
the  Indians  of  our  side  and  acquaintance  may  have  perpetrated 
this  homicide,  because  the  distance  is  excessive,  and  the  fact 
has  never  been  know^n  in  Orinoco,  and  this  is  the  first  time  he 
hears  of  the  Arinda  Barrack  ;  that  being  situated  as  Grave- 
gaud  states,  towards  the  source  of  the  Esquivo  river,  it  is  inac- 


r.M) 

cessible  to  us  and  our  I  udians,  the  ( 'dIouv  of  I^<(|uivo  l)eiug 
interposed  Ijotweeu  said  sourcx'  and  our  settk'UU'nts,  preventing 
a  pass. 

Tliat  tlie  dcpdiicnt  has  never  seen  nor  heard  that  tlie  Hol- 
landers had  any  fisht-ries  at  the  nioulh  of  tht'  Orinoeo,  nor 
that  the  Spaniards  had  to  sto}>  them  ;  tliat  he  does  not  under- 
stand that  the  llolhmders  want  any  such  fi^licries  at  tlie  mouth 
of  the  Orinoco,  because  they  hive  ph'uly  of  hsli  nmcli  nearer 
to  Esquivo;  that  the  Most  Kcverend  Father  is  persuaded  that 
now,  under  pretext  of  fisheries,  they  want  to  estaldisli  them- 
selves freely  with  their  vessels  on  tlie  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  to 
re-establish  and  facilitate  the  furtive  shipments  of  mules  from 
Guarapiche  and  Guaruapo,  and  Barinas  tol)acco,  hides,  and 
other  prodncts  of  the  Spanish  Provinces,  whieli  improved  con- 
siderably their  Colony  when  the  Orinoco  and  its  creeks  were 
not  guarded  as  they  are  now. 

This  novelty  and  the  want  of  conunci'ce  is  the  true  cause  of 
the  decadence  of  Esquivo  and  the  resentment  of  Mr.  de  (Jrave- 
sand,  the  first  merchant,  and  always  the  most  interested  in  the 
illicit  commerce  of  the  colony. 

That  the  statement  is  equally  false  that  said  lisln'i-ies  had 
been  stopped  likewise  by  the  Spaniards  on  the  territory  of  wliat 
Gravesand  calls  of  his  State,  extending  the  same  to  the  river 
Mareffuine,  down  to  this  side  of  the  Guavne,  verv  neai-  the 
mouth  of  tlie  ()rin()('o;  said  suiijiosition  the  deponent  calls  an 
intolerable  error. 

That  in  regard  to  the  slaves,  deserters  from  Esquivo,  the  de- 
ponent says  that  there  are  two  kinds,  one  of  negr<jes  jiurehased 
in  Africa,  and  the  other  of  Indians  taken  by  the  Hollanders 
cruelly  and  unduly,  by  means  of  the  Carilis  their  allies,  from 
our  dominions,  thi'ough  the  rivers  Moruea  and  (iuayne, 
em[)tying  their  waters  into  the  sea,  and  in  eommunieation 
with  Orinoco,  or  else  through  the  rivers  Cuyuni,  Maserony, 
Apanony,  and  others  running  tlirough  the  innermost  terri- 
tories of  this  Province  and  emptying  into  the  Esquivo  ; 
that  in  regard  to  the  ret.'nlion  of  the  latter,  the  reason 
is  plain,  because  being  the  vassals  of  the  King  and  crim- 
inally  enslaved  by  the   1  lollanders.  who  kee[)  this  inhuman 


191 

commerce  with  the  Caribs,  against  eveiy  law,  we  could  not  and 
we  ought  not  to  return  them  to  slavery,  whenever  they  are 
happy  enough  to  elude  it,  and  return  to  enjoy  the  protection 
of  the  ministers  of  their  lawful  Lord  and  Sovereign. 

In  regard  to  the  negroes,  the  deponent  says  that  Mr.  de 
Gravesand's  assertion  is  untrue,  that  notwithstanding  that  we 
know  that  two  negro  fugitive  slaves  from  this  city  to  the 
Colony  of  Esquivo  were  sold  there  by  said  Gravesand,  and 
although  their  owners,  Don  Tomas  Franquiz  and  Catalina  de 
Arocha,  domiciled  in  Guayana,  liave  claimed  them,  they  have 
not  been  properly  attended,  that  oftentimes  Gravesand  has 
claimed  from  here  several  deserters  from  Esquivo,  and  their 
owners  having  been  satisfied  with  their  sale  for  cash  in  Guay- 
ana, they  have  received  the  price  and  returned  to  Esquivo, 
except  only  when  the  slaves  come  for  the  benefit  of  becoming 
Catholics  and  are  considered  free,  in  compliance  with  orders 
from  His  Majesty. 

That  neither  the  Indians  nor  the  fugitive  negroes  from  Es- 
quivo have  ever  been  induced  by  the  Spaniards  to  run  away, 
as  far  as  he  knows,  nor  is  it  likely  that  they  should  attempt  to 
do  so. 

That  it  is  true  that  the  Colony  of  Esquivo  is  being  appar- 
ently ruined,  irom  the  time  when  the  doors  have  been  closed 
to  it  for  the  illicit  trade  they  used  to  carry  on  with  Orinoco,  and 
the  Poytos  or  Indian  slaves  have  found  the  way  to  become 
free,  when  they  escape  from  said  Colony. 

He  finally  deposes  that  it  is  absolutely  false  that  the  Span- 
iards may  have  killed  the  Dutch  Guardman  or  Guardmen, 
nor  attacked  any  other  Post  than  that  of  the  Cuyuni,  in  the 
year  seventeen  hundred  and  fifty-eight,  when  only  one  man 
was  killed,  and  that  was  a  Spanish  soldier;  and  he  adds,  that 
in  twenty-three  years,  during  which  he  has  been  an  Apostolic 
Missionary  in  this  Province,  having  been  Prefect  three  times, 
his  long  experience  has  shown  him  that  it  is  on  account  of 
the  suggestions  of  the  Esquivo  Hollanders,  and  their  detest- 
able commerce  in  Poytos,  that  the  whole  of  the  Caribs  have 
not  been  already  settled  in  our  Missions,  as  well  as  many 
other  savage  tribes,  and  that  said  Caribs,  under  the  advice 


192 

of  the  rioUaii<U'rs,  work  (•(•utinually  in  the  <li'structi<>ii  of  the 
new  settlements,  through  various  means,  ijurning  thi'in  as 
thcv  dill  in  seventeen  hun<lr(Ml  ;inil  fifty,  attaekiiiLi,-  thcni  by 
open  forec.  or  making  them  rcvoh  l»y  n~ing  <liabolical  arts,, 
so  that  (huang  the  time  (h'lioiicnl  has  liccn  kept  working  on 
these  Missions,  the  Holhmders  united  with  the  Caribs  have 
destroyed  seven  settlements  ah-eady  organized,  as  may  be  seen 
bvthe  legal  investigation  instituted  on  the  s'al)icct,  wit hout 
eounting  those  settlements  under  theJesuit  Missionaries,  whieh 
they  Ijurned  and  destroyed,  when  I  hey  killed  many  Keverend 
Fathers. 

That  the  above  statements  jire  tlie  truth  under  tiie  oatli 
that  lie  has  taken  ;  and  that  he  ratities  and  atlirms  the  same, 
and  will  do  it  again  if  necessary,  and  that  he  is  titty-eight 
years  old. 

Having  read  his  deposition,  he  said  that  it  is  the  same  that 
he  had  stateil,  and  tliat  it  is  well  and  faithfully  written,  and 
has  nothing  to  ad<l  or  withdraw  from  the  same,  and  signs  it 
witli  the  Comnumder  (leneral.  ami  ourselves  the  witnesses  of 
the  act,  certifying  to  tiie  same. 

Dox  Manuel  Centckiox — [liere  is  a  llourish]. 

Fk.  BkMTO    DE  la  CtAKRIGA, 

ex-Prefect — [here  is  a  tiourishj. 
L)ii-:(io  I(tXacio  Making — [here  is  a  flourish]. 
EsTEVAX  MAi;ri\i;z — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


2.  (Jn  the  same  day,  month,  and  year,  in  eontinuation  of  the 
j)roceedings  instituted,  in  eom[>liance  \vit!i  the  foregoing  rule, 
this  Tribunal  hail  Ix'foi'e  it  the  Uevei'end  Father  Fr.  Tonias 
de  San  l*edro,  of  the' ( 'apuehin  Missions  of  this  I'rovine  '  of 
Guayana,  who  was  duly  sworn  by  the  ('onnnander  (ienei'al 
according  to  law,  "  tdcht  /jcrtorc  in  vi  rlxi  .■oicci'd')/ is,"  ami  who 
promised  to  tell  the  truth  of  all  that  he  knew  and  were  inter- 
rogated, and  Ijeing  examined,  aeeording  to  the  tenor  of  the 
paper  presented  by  the  j\[inister  of  Holland,  inserted  in  folios 
1  to  (')  of  this  proceeding,  alter  it  was  read  literally,  word  l)y 
wonl.  he   saiil  : 

That  the    Hollanders  were    not    nor  evei'  had   l)een    iii   pos- 


11)3 

session  of  the  rivers  or  rivulets  emptying  into  tlie  sea,  from 
Esquivo  exclusive,  to  the  mouth  of  Orinoco ;  that  the}^  had 
been  allowed  to  keep  a  small  guard  of  two  Europeans  and  sev- 
eral Indians  at  a  barrack  they  called  Post,  at  the  eastern  margin 
of  the  Mornca  river,  called  by  the  Hollanders  Maroco ;  that 
this  establishment  is  not  "  from  time  almost  immemorial,"  be- 
cause all  the  Colony  is  not  so,  as  we  know  that  it  had  its  origin 
in  the  year  sixteen  hundred  and  sixty-nine. 

That  it  is  not  true  that  the  Hollanders  had  had  nor  have 
possession  of  the  Cuyuni  river  (called  by  them  Cayoeny),  hav- 
ing established  there  a  guard  and  barrack  like  that  of  Mornca, 
in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  forty-seven,  to  facilitate 
the  inhuman  commerce  and  trade  in  Indians  whom  they  en- 
slaved surreptitiously  in  the  dominions  of  the  King  our  Lord, 
for  the  cultivation  and  improvement  of  the  plantations  of  the 
Colony. 

That  as  soon  as  the  case  came  to  our  notice,  in  the  year  seven 
hundred  and  fifty -seven,  they  were  dislodged  from  there,  so  that 
neither  in  Cuyuni,  Maserony,  Apanony,  nor  other  rivers  of 
those  emptying  into  Esquivo,  have  the  Hollanders  any  posses- 
sion, nor  is  it  tolerable  that  they  should  have,  because  said 
rivers  embrace  nearly  all  the  territory  of  the  Province  of 
Guayana  from  their  headwaters,  their  western  terminus,  where 
they  originate,  down  to  their  eastern  limit,  emptying  into  the 
Esquivo  river — it  should  result  from  such  a  supposed  posses- 
sion that  the  Hollanders  should  turn  to  be  the  owners  of  the 
extensive  Province  of  Guayana,  and  that  the  Spaniards  would 
not  have  any  more  than  the  said  margins  of  (Jrinoco,  an 
absurdity;  that  they  have  been  tolerated  only  on  the  banks 
of  the  Escjuivo  river,  running  from  the  southeast  to  the  north- 
west in  a  quasi  parallel  direction  to  the  ocean  coast,  the  east- 
tern  terminus  of  this  Province  of  Guayana,  keeping  the  interior 
freely  for  tlie  Spaniards,  their  lawful  possessors. 

That  he  has  not  heard  that  the  Spaniards  had  built  any 
strongholds  on  the  Cuyuni,  nor  its  surroundings,  with  either 
few  or  many  troops ;  but  he  thinks  that  Mr.  de  Gravesand 
may  have  imagined  to  be  such,  the  two  Missions  or  Indian 
settlements  founded  by  the  Catalan  Capuchin  Fathers  in  the 

Vol.   II,  Ve.v.— 13 


194 

years  of  seven  luindred  and  lifty-seveii  and  sevm  liundix'(l 
and  sixty-one,  on  the  nortlievn  iHai<iin  of  the  Yuruari  river, 
emptying  into  the  Esquivo,  and  distant  seventy  leaoues  from 
the  destroyed  Dutch  l)arrack  ;  that  the  reason  lie  lias  to  tliink 
so  is  that  we  have  no  other  estahHsliment  in  tiiat  quarter,  and 
althonoli  in  these  settlements  there  is  no  more  troop  than  one 
soldier  in  each  one,  for  the  escort  of  the  Missionaries,  the 
Carihs,  whom  Mr.  Gravesand  believes,  as  he  explains  things 
in  his  statement,  may  have  deceived  him  with  this  story,  as  it 
ap})ears  he  has  filled  with  many  others  his  fanciful  ie})ort. 

That  it  is  true  that  last  February  permission  was  given  by 
the  Ivcverend  Father  Prefect  of  the  Missions,  to  '"'  the  Reverend 
Fathers  Fr.  Josej)h  Antonio  de  Zervera  and  Fr.  Felix  de  Tar- 
raga  to  go  down  to"  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco  and  the  JJarima 
rivers  in  <iuest  of  the  Aruacas  and  Guaraunos  (Indians),  desert- 
ers from  the  Missions  in  our  charge,  and  that  these  Reverend 
Fathers  with  the  launch  and  escort  carrying  them,  found  their 
dispersed  Indians,  between  Guayne  and  Moruca  ;  while  gather- 
ing tluMu  they  reached  a  Post  where  a  Hollander  had  three 
Indian  women  with  their  children,  whom  he  had  enslaved 
and  taken  out,  through  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  as  said 
women  stated  to  the  Fathers  ;  that  they  were  brought  back  to 
the  Missions,  but  without  any  violence  or  harm  done  to  the 
Hollanders. 

That  in  regard  to  the  Post  and  commercial  house  that 
Gravesand  sup])os(\s  to  l)ave  been  held  by  the  Dutch  Company, 
between  Gruayne  and  Povaron,  the  deponent  does  not  know, 
nor  has  he  ever  heard  anything  about  said  establishment. 

That  Ik;  has  never  before  heard  of  the  death  of  the  Corpo- 
ral of  the  Arinda  Barrack,  towards  the  source  of  the  Esquivo, 
noi-  even  of  its  existence;  that  it  is  incredible  to  the  deponent 
that  the  Si)aniards  of  the  Orinoco  or  the  Indians  of  our  de- 
votion and  ae(|uaintance  may  have  committed  this  homicide, 
because,  being  so  very  distant  and  unknown  to  us,  the  vast 
space  of  territory  between  Orinoco  and  that  place,  we  have 
never  iieard  of  such  a  death,  this  being  the  first  time  that 
we  hear  the  name  of  the  Ai'inda  Barrack;  that,  situated  as 
(oMVc-^aiid  says  it  is,  towards  the   heart  of  the  Esquivo  river, 


J9o 

it  is  inaccessible  to  lis  and  our  Indians,  having  the  Colony  of 
Esquivo,  between  said  river's  sources,  preventing  the  pass  from 
our  settlements. 

That  the  dei)onent  has  never  heard  that  the  Hollanders  liad 
fisheries  at  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  nor  that  the  Spaniards 
had  had  to  stop  them;  that  he  does  not  understand  that  the 
Hollanders  ma\'  have  any  necessity  of  such  fisheries  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  because  they  have  means  to  get  all  the 
fish  they  want  nearer  the  Esquivo ;  and  that  the  Reverend 
Father  is  persuaded  that  now,  under  the  pretext  of  fisheries, 
what  they  want  is  to  pass  freely  with  their  vessels  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Orinoco,  to  re-establish  and  facilitate  the  furtive  ship- 
ments of  mules  from  the  Guarapiche  and  Guarapo  rivers,  be- 
sides Barinas  tobacco,  hides,  and  other  products  from  the 
Spanish  Provinces,  for  the  improvement  of  their  Colon}'  when 
the  Orinoco  was  not  guarded,  as  it  is  now,  with  its  creeks. 
This  novelty  and  the  want  of  commerce  is  the  true  cause  of 
Esquivo's  decadence,  and  of  the  resentment  of  Mr.  de  Grave- 
sand,  the  first  merchant,  and  always  the  most  interested  in  the 
illicit  trade  of  the  Colony. 

That  it  is  equally  untrue  what  is  said  about  the  fisheries 
having  been  prevented  by  the  Spaniards,  in  the  territories  that 
Gravesand  claims  to  belong  to  his  own  State,  stating  that  it 
extends  from  the  river  Mareguine  up  to  this  side  of  the  Guayne 
River,  very  near  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco — this  supposition  the 
de}ionent  considers  an  intolerable  error. 

In  regard  to  the  slaves  escaj)ed  from  Esquivo,  the  deponent 
says  that  there  are  two  kinds  of  them  ;  that  they  are  either 
negroes  purchased  in  Africa,  or  Indians  taken  away  unduly 
and  cruelly  by  the  Hollanders  or  the  Caribs,  their  allies,  from 
our  dominions,  by  way  of  the  Moruca  and  Guayne  rivers 
emptying  into  the  sea  and  in  communication  with  tlie  Orinoco, 
or  else  through  the  rivers  Cuyuni,  Maserony,  Apanony,  and 
other  rivers  bringing  their  waters  from  the  innermost  parts  of 
this  Province  and  emptying  into  the  Esquivo  river ;  that  in 
regard  to  the  resistance  we  oppose  to  the  latter,  the  reason  is 
plain,  because  as  they  are  vassals  of  the  King,  criminally  en- 
slaved by  the  Hollanders,  who  maintain  this  inhuman  com- 


11 M) 

iiierce  witii  tlu'Caribs  a,<;;iiii.sl  every  law,  we  can  not  and  ought 
not  to  return  tlieni  to  slavery,  when  they  are  happy  enougli  to 
escape  I'nim  it.  taking  the  })rotection  of  the  Ministers  of  their 
lawful  l.nvd  and  sovereign. 

Tliat  ni  regard  to  the  negroes,  the  deponent  says  that  it  is 
not  true  what  Mr.  Gravesand  says,  because  notwithstand- 
ing that  we  are  aware  that  the  two  fugitive  negro  slaves  of 
this  city  were  sohl  at  the  Colony  of  Es(iuivo  by  Gravesand, 
and  that  aUhough  their  masters,  Don  Tonias  Franquiz  and 
Catalina  de  Arocha,  domiciled  in  Guayana,  chiimed  them,  they 
had  no  satisfaction  of  any  kind;  several  times  Gravesand 
claimed  from  here  some  deserters  from  Esquivo,  and  their 
masters  agreed  with  the  terms  of  their  sale,  effected  in  Guayana, 
and  took  with  them  the  proceeds  to  Esquivo,  except  only  those 
slaves  that  come  in  quest  of  the  benefit  of  becoming  Catholics, 
and  who  have  been  made  free  by  orders  from  the  King ;  that 
neither  the  Indians  nor  the  fugitive  negroes  from  Esquivo,  as 
far  as  the  deponent  knows,  had  been  induced  by  the  Spaniards 
to  run  away,  nor  does  it  seem  to  him  likely  that  anybody 
should  have  dared  to  undertake  such  a  step. 

That  it  is  true  that  the  Colony  of  Esquivo  goes  visibly  to 
ruin,  since  the  doors  have  been  shut  up  to  the  illicit  connnerce 
they  carried  on  before,  in  Orinoco,  and  since  the  Poytos  or  In- 
dian slaves  have  found  open  the  way  to  recover  their  freedom, 
whenever  they  can  escape  from  them. 

And  finally  the  dejionent  says  that  it  is  absolutely  false  that 
the  Spaniards  iiad  killed  anybody  of  the  Dutch  Guard  or 
(iuanls,  or  had  attacked  any  other  Post  of  theirs,  than  that  of 
the  Cuyuni,  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  fitty-eight; 
that  the  only  man  killed  on  that  occasion  was  a  Spanish 
soldier  ;  and  he  adds  that  he  has  been  for  the  last  twenty-three 
years  an  Apostolic  Missionary  in  this  Province,  and  with  that 
experience  he  is  enabled  to  say  that  the  suggestions  of  the 
Hollanders  from  Esquivo,  and  their  detestable  commerce  in 
Poytos,  is  the  reason  why  all  the  Caribs  have  not  been  settled 
in  our  Missions,  as  well  as  many  other  savage  tribes,  and  that 
said  Hollanders  influence<l  them  all  continually  to  undertake 
the  destruction   of  our  settlement  in   different  ways,  l)urning 


197 

them,  as  they  did  in  seventeen  liundred  and  fifty,  attacking 
them  by  open  force,  or  trying  to  make  them  revolt  by  artful 
and  diabolical  contrivances;  that  during  the  time  that  the 
deponent  has  been  working  in  this  Mission  the  Hollanders 
united  to  the  Caribs  have  destroyed,  as  may  be  seen  by  the 
respective  proceedings,  seven  settlements  already  organized, 
without  counting  those  of  the  Jesuits,  which  they  destroyed 
by  fire,  killing  many  of  the  Reverend  Fathers. 

That  all  his  statements  are  true  under  the  oath  he  has 
taken,  and  that  he  will  ratify  and  affirm  again  and  again,  if 
necessary;  that  he  is  fifty-three  years  old. 

His  deposition  having  been  read  to  him,  he  said  it  is  the 
same  that  he  has  given,  and  tiiat  it  is  well  and  faithfully 
written,  having  nothing  to  add  nor  to  take  out  from  the  same, 
and  he  signs  with  the  Commander  General  and  the  acting- 
witnesses,  certifying  to  the  act. 

Dox  Manuel  Centurion — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

Fr.  Thomas  de  San  Pedro, 

Apostolic  Missionary — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

Diego  Ignacio  Marino — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

Esteban  Martinez — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


3.  On  the  2(3th  day  of  the  same  mouth  and  year,  in  continu- 
ation of  the  proceedings  instituted  in  compliance  witli  the 
preceding  rule,  the  Tribunal  had  in  its  presence  the  Reverend 
Father  Fr.  Jose  Antonio  de  Zervera,  Capuchin  and  Missionary 
of  this  Province  of  Guayana,  who  was  duly  sworn  l)y  the  Com- 
mander General,  according  to  the  law  and  usage,  "  tacto  pecfore 
in  verbo  sacerdotis,^^  who  promised  to  tell  the  truth  of  all  that 
he  knew  and  might  be  interrogated,  as  it  was,  according  to 
the  tenor  of  the  paper  presented  b}'  the  Minister  of  Holland, 
inserted  at  folios  1  to  6  of  this  proceeding.  For  his  better  in- 
telligence it  was  read  to  him,  word  by  word,  and  he  said : 

That  the  Hollanders  are  not,  nor  have  ever  been  in  posses- 
sion of  the  rivers  nor  rivulets  emptying  into  the  sea  from  tlie 
Esquivo  exclusive,  down  to  the  mouth  of  Orinoco  ;  that  it  has 
been  only  tolerated   on  that  side,  their  small  Guard  of  two 


108 

Europeans  and  several  Indians,  at  a  Barrack  which  they 
called  Post,  on  the  eastern  niaruin  of  the  Monica  river,  called 
by  the  Hollanders,  Maroco ;  and  that  this  establishment  is  not 
of  quasi  immemorial  time,  because  the  whole  of  the  Colony  is 
not,  as  we  know  that  it  was  commcMU'Ofl  towards  the  year  six- 
teen hundred  and  fifty-nine. 

That  it  is  untrue  that  tlie  Hollanders  have  had,  or  have 
possessions  on  the  Cuyuni  river  (called  by  them  Cayoeny),  as 
when  they  established  on  it  a  Guard  and  Barrack,  similar  to 
that  of  M(iru(;a,  in  the  year  1747,  to  facilitate  the  inhuman 
commerce  and  the  trade  in  Indians,  whom  they  enslaved 
surreptitiously  in  the  dominions  of  the  King  our  Lord,  for  the 
culture  and  improvement  of  their  Colony,  as  soon  as  the  case 
came  to  the  notice  of  the  S})aniards,  in  the  year  1757,  they 
were  dislodged  from  it,  so  that  neither  on  the  Cuyuni,  Mase- 
rony,  Apanony,  nor  the  other  rivers  emptying  into  the  Esquivo, 
have  the  Hollanders  any  possessions,  nor  should  it  be  tolerated 
that  they  should  have  it,  because  said  rivers  embrace  all  the 
territory  of  the  Province  of  Guayana,  running  from  its  western 
terminus,  where  they  have  their  sources,  down  to  the  eastern 
limit,  emptying  into  the  Esquivo  river — it  should  come 
out  from  the  suppossed  possession  that  the  Hollanders  were 
masters  of  nearly  all  the  extensive  territory  of  Guayana,  and 
that  the  Spaniards  had  nothing  else  than  the  said  margins  of 
the  Orinoco,  which  is  an  absurdity. 

That  the  only  [)laces  where  the  Hollanders  are  tolerated  is 
on  the  margins  of  the  Esquivo  river,  running  from  the  south- 
east to  the  northwest,  almost  })arallel  to  the  ocean  coast,  the 
eastern  terminus  of  this  Province  of  (Tuayana,  and  leaves  free 
all  the  intei'ior  of  the  same  for  the  Spaniards,  their  legitimate 
possessors. 

That  he  does  not  know,  nor  ever  heard,  that  the  Spaniards 
had  any  stronghold  on  the  Cuyuni,  nor  in  its  surroundings, 
witli  many  or  few  troops,  but  he  i'^  })ersuaded  that  Mr.  de 
Gravesand  may  have  imagined  to  be  such  the  two  settlements 
or  stations  that  the  Catalan  Capuchin  Fathers  founded  in  the 
years  1757  and  17G1,  at  the  northern  margin  of  the  Yuruari 
river,  emptying  into  the  Cuyuni  river,  and  distant  70  leagues 


199 

from  the  site  of  the  destroyed  Dutch  Barrack,  and  that  the 
reason  he  has  for  this  supposition  is  that  we  have  not  any 
other  establisliraents  on  that  part  of  the  country,  and  that 
although  there  are  no  more  troops  in  those  settlements  than 
one  soldier  in  each  for  the  escort  of  the  Missioners,  the  Caribs 
whom  Mr.  de  Gravesand  gives  credit,  according  to  his  explana- 
tion in  his  report,  may  have  deceived  him  with  this  story,  as 
it  appears  they  have  with  others,  with  which  his  nonsensical 
report  abounds. 

That  it  is  true  that  in  February  of  last  year,  having  permit- 
ted the  Reverend  Father  Prefectof  the  Missions,  the  Reverend 
Father  Fr.  Felix  de  Tarraga,  and  to  the  deponent  to  go  down 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco  and  Barima  rivers  in  quest  of  the 
Aruacas  and  Guaraunos  (Indians),  deserters  from  the  Missions 
in  their  charo-e,  and  that  with  the  launch  and  escort  that  car- 
ried  them,  finding  said  dispersed  Indians  between  Guayne  and 
Moruca  ;  while  gathering  the  same,  they  reached  a  Post  where 
there  was  a  Hollander,  who  had  three  Indian  women,  witli 
their  children,  that  he  had  enslaved  and  brought  there  from 
the  mouth  of  Orinoco,  as  they  stated  ;  they  were  brought  back 
to  the  Missions  without  any  violence  or  harm  to  any  of  the 
Hollanders;  on  the  contrary,  in  order  to  favor  the  Corporal  of 
the  Post,  who  asked,  on  his  knees,  and  crying,  that  the  de- 
ponent, and  the  Reverend  Father  in  his  company,  would 
allow  him,  for  the  love  of  God,  a  certificate  for  his  exculpation 
to  satisfy  the  Governor  of  Escpiivo,  and  that  the  deponent  and 
his  companion,  without  suspecting  any  malice  on  his  preten- 
sions, and  moved  to  pity,  gave  him  a  certificate  so  broad  as  to  ex- 
ceed its  contents,  saying  that  they  had  a  permit  from  the  Com- 
mander General  of  Orinoco  and  Guayana  to  enter  as  far  as  that 
place,  when  such  was  not  the  case,  as  the  passports  held  b}^  the 
pilot  of  the  launch  carrying  them  was  definitely  for  the  mouth 
of  Orinoco,  and  as  to  the  rest  they  had  no  more  permission 
nor  any  other  orders  than  those  from  their  Prelate. 

That  in  regard  to  the  Post  and  commercial  house  supposed 
by  Gravesand  to  have  been  possessed  by  the  Dutch  Company 
between  Guayne  and  Povaron,  the  deponent  'loes  not  know, 
nor  has  he  ever  heard  of  such  an  establishment. 


200 

Tliat  he  has  not  heard  of  the  death  of  the  Corj-oiiil  of  the 
Arinda  Barrack  towards  the  sources  of  the  Esquivo,  iioi'  dt  its 
existence  there,  and  that  it  is  incredible  to  the  de})oiK'iit  tliat 
the  Spaniards  of  tlie  ( )rinoc()  or  tlie  Indians  of  our  ac(iuaintance 
and  dependence  may  have  perpetrated  tliis  liomicide,  liecau.-e, 
besides  tlie  long-  nnd  unknown  distance  and  extensive  ter- 
ritory se])arating  the  ()rinoco  from  that  place  he  lias  ne\cr 
heard  of  such  a  death,  nor  of  the  name  of  the  Arinda  Barrack, 
that  being  situated,  as  (Jravesand  represents  it,  towards  the 
sources  of  the  Esquivo  river,  it  is  inaccessible  to  us  and  to  om' 
Indians,  as  the  Colony  of  Esquivo  is  situated  between  said 
sources  and  our  establishments,  preventing  our  access  to  it. 

That  he  has  never  seen  nor  even  heard  that  the  Hollanders 
had  kept  any  fisheries  at  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  or  that  the 
Spaniards  had  sto]ipcd  them  ;  that  he  can  not  understand  what 
necessity  the  Hollanders  may  claim  for  such  a  fishery  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  when  they  can  provide  themselves  with 
ti-li  much  nearer  to  the  Esquivo,  and  that  he  is  persuaded 
that  now,  under  ])retcxt  of  fishing,  they  want  to  establish 
freely  with  their  embarkations  at  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco  in 
order  to  resume  and  facilitate  their  furtive  shipments  of  mules 
Irom  Guarapiche  and  Guaruapo,  and  Barinas  tobacco,  liides 
and  other  products  of  the  Spanish  Provinces,  with  wliich  they 
improved  considerably  their  Colony,  when  the  Orinoco  and  its 
creeks  were  not  guarded  as  they  are  now.  This  novelt}'  and 
the  want  of  commerce  is  the  true  cause  of  the  decadence  of 
Esquivo  and  of  the  resentment  of  Mr.  de  Gravesand,  the  first 
merchant,  and  always  the  most- interested  in  the  illicit  com- 
merce of  the  Colony. 

That  it  is  equally  false  that  said  fisheries  have  been  pre- 
vented by  the  Spaniards  in  the  territory  that  Gravesand  calls 
territory  of  the  State,  which,  he  says,  extends  from  the  ]\Iare- 
guine  river  to  this  side  of  the  Guayne,  very  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Orinoco  ;  said  supposition,  the  de{)onent  says,  is  an  egre- 
gious error. 

In  reganl  to  the  slaves  deserted  from  Esquivo,  the  deponent 
says  there  are  two  classes  ;  the  negroes  purchased  from  Africa 
and  the  Indians  that  the  Hollanders  cruellv  and  wrongfullv 


201 

take  away,  or  cause  to  be  taken  away,  by  the  Caribs,  tlieir 
allies,  from  our  dominions,  by  way  of  the  Moruca  and  Guayne 
riyers,  flowing  into  the  sea  and  in  communication  with  the 
Orinoco,  or  through  the  riyers  Cuyuni,  Maserony,  Apanony 
^nd  others,  running  from  the  innermost  part  of  the  Proyince 
and  emptying  into  the  Esquiyo. 

That  in  regard  to  the  retention  of  the  Indians,  the  reason 
is  yery  plain,  because,  as  they  are  vassals  of  the  King  and 
criminally  enslayed  by  the  Hollanders,  who  deal  in  this  in- 
human commerce  with  the  Caribs,  against  eyery  law,  we  can 
not  and  ought  not  to  send  them  1)ack  to  slaver}^  when  they 
haye  been  ha})p3^  enough  to  shake  it  and  take  refuge  under 
the  protection  of  the  Ministers  of  their  legitimate  Lord  and 
Soyereign. 

In  regard  to  the  negroes,  the  deponent  says  that  Mr.  de 
Grayesand  is  not  correct,  because  although  we  know  that  two 
fugitiye  negro  slayes  of  this  city  were  sold  at  the  Colony  of 
Esquiyo  by  said  de  Grayesand,  and  that  their  owners,  Don 
Thomas  Franquiz  and  Catalina  de  Arocha,  residents  of 
Guayana,  liad  claimed  them  and  receiyed  no  satisfaction  what- 
eyer.  Several  times  Grayesand  has  claimed  some  deserters 
from  Esquivo,  and  their  masters  have  been  satisfied  with  their 
sale  made  in  Guayana,  and  received  and  carried  the  proceeds 
to  Esquiyo.  except  only  in  the  cases  of  those  slaves  who  in 
order  to  enjoy  the  benefits  of  the  Catholic  religion,  made  their 
escape,  as  they  have  been  made  free  by  the  King's  directions. 

That  neither  the  Indians  nor  the  fugitive  negroes  from 
Esquiyo,  as  far  as  the  deponent  knows,  have  ever  been  induced 
by  the  Spaniards  to  run  away,  nor  is  it  likely  that  anybody 
should  have  dared  to  attempt  the  step. 

That  it  is  true  that  the  Colony  of  Esquivo  is  visibly  going 
to  ruin  from  the  time  when  the  doors  for  the  illicit  commerce 
they  were  carrying  on  before  on  the  Orinoco  have  been  shut 
up,  and  the  Poytos  or  Indian  slaves  find  open  the  way  to  their 
freedom  whenever  they  can  escape. 

And,  finally,  he  says  that  it  is  absolutely  false  that  the  Span- 
iards had  killed  any  Dutch  Guard  or  attacked  any  other 
Post  held  by  them  than  that  of  Cuyuni  in  the  ye^r  seventeen 


•202 

Iiuu'lrcd  aiiil  lifty-eight,  in  which  attack  only  a  man  was 
killed,  wh(»  was  a  Spani^sh  soldier.  lie  says  that  he  has  heeii 
for  the  past  nine  years  an  A])ostolic  Minister  in  this  Province, 
and  his  experience  enahles  him  to  say  that  the  suggestions  of 
the  Esquivo  Hollanders,  and  their  detestable  commerce  in 
Poytos,  is  the  cause  for  not  having  all  the  Caribs  settled  in  our 
Mission,  as  well  as  many  other  savage  tribes,  wdio  are  continu- 
ally working  the  destruction  of  our  settlements,  under  the  ad- 
vice of  the  Hollanders,  through  various  ways — setting  them 
on  fire,  as  they  did  in  seventeen  hundred  and  fifty,  or  by  open 
force  and  revolts,  by  means  of  an  artful  and  diabolical  policy  ; 
that  during  the  time  that  he  and  his  Reverend  brothers  have 
been  serving  in  these  Missions,  the  Caribs,  joined  by  the  Hol- 
landers, have  destroyed,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  corresponding 
judicial  proceedings,  seven  formal  settlements,  without  taking 
into  account  those  that  they  have  set  on  fire  or  destroyed  under 
the  Jesuits,  killing  at  the  same  time  many  Reverend  Fathers. 
That  what  he  says  he  knows  to  be  true,  and  it  is  well  known 
of  the  other  Reverend  Father  Missionaries,  as  stated  by  them, 
after  their  long  experience,  and  by  other  {)ersons  of  the  highest 
veracity,  that  the  deponent  under  his  oath  ratifies  and  affirms^ 
and  will  repeat,  if  necessary,  what  he  has  stated;  that  he  is 
forty-nine  years  old. 

And  having  heard  his  deposition  read  to  him,  he  says  it  is 
the  same  he  has  given,  and  that  it  is  taithfully  and  well  writ- 
ten, having  nothing  to  add  oi-  withdraw  from  the  same,  and 
he  signed  with  tlie  Commandei'  (General  and  ourselves,  the 
acting  witnesses,  certilying  to  the  act. 

Fk.  Josef  Antonio  de  Cerveka — [here  is  a  tlourish]. 

Don  ^Manuel  Centurion — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

Don  Diego  Ignacio  MariSo — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

EsTEiJAN  Martinez — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


4.  On  the  .same  da}',  month,  and  year,  in  continuation  of  t'.ie 
investigation  instituted  according  to  the  above  rule,  this  Tii- 
bunal   had   before  it  tlie   Reverend  Father  Fr.  Felix  de  Tar- 


203 

raga,  a  Capuchin  Missionary  of  this  Province  of  Guyana,  who, 
having  been  sworn  by  the  Commander  General  according  to 
law,  tado  pedore  in  verbo  sacerdotis,  he  promised  to  tell  the 
whole  truth  of  what  he  knew  and  would  be  interrogated.  And 
being  examined  by  the  tenor  of  the  already-mentioned  paper 
presented  by  the  Minister  of  Holland  and  inserted  in  folios  1 
to  6  of  these  acts,  and  for  his  best  information  read  to  him 
-word  by  word,  he  said  : 

That  the  Hollanders  are  not,  nor  have  ever  been,  in  pos- 
session of  the  rivers  and  rivulets  emptying  into  the  sea,  from 
Esquivo  exclusive,  dow^n  to  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco;  that  on 
that  side  only  they  had  been  tolerated  to  keep  a  small  guard 
of  two  Europeans  and  a  few  Indians  in  a  barrack  called  the 
Post  on  the  eastern  margin  of  the  Moruca  river,  called  by  the 
Hollanders  Maroco  ;  and  tliat  this  establishment  is  not  of  almost 
immemorial  time,  because  the  whole  of  the  Colony  is  not  so, 
for  we  know  that  it  commenced  in  the  year  sixteen  hundred 
and  fifty-nine. 

That  it  is  untrue  that  the  Hollanders  had,  or  have  had, 
possession  of  tlic  Cuyuni  river  (which  they  call  Cayoeny) ; 
that  having  established  a  guard  and  barrack,  similar  to  that 
of  Moruca,  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  forty-seven  to 
facilitate  the  inhuman  commerce  and  trade  in  Indians,  whom 
they  have  enslaved  surreptitiously  in  the  dominions  of  the 
King  our  Lord,  for  the  cultivation  of  the  plantations  and  im- 
{irovement  of  their  Colony,  as  soon  as  it  came  to  the  notice  of 
the  Spaniards,  in  seventeen  hundred  and  fifty-seven,  they  were 
dislodged  from  there,  and  so  they  have  not  any  possessions  at 
the  Cuyuni,  Maserony,  Apanony,  or  the  other  rivers  emptying- 
into  the  Esquivo  river;  nor  is  it  tolerable  that  tliey  should, 
because  those  rivers  embrace  all  the  territory  of  the  Province 
of  Guayana,  running  from  their  sources  or  western  terminus 
down  to  their  eastern  limit,  emptying  into  the  Esquivo — it 
should  result  from  tiie  supposed  possession  that  the  Hollanders 
were  the  masters  of  nearly  the  whole  of  the  extensive  Prov- 
ince of  Guayana,  and  that  the  Spaniards  would  not  hold  any 
more  than  the  said  margins  of  the  Orinoco,  which  is  an  ab- 
surdity. 


•2U4 

That  tlii-y  arc  only  ti>lfratcil  oii  tlif  margins  of  the  Esquivo 
rivnr,  running  from  rsdutiicast  to  nortiiwest,  ahnost  parallel  with 
the  ocean  coast,  the  eastern  end  of  the  Province  of  Guayana, 
leaving  fri'c  to  tin-  Spaniards,  their  legitimate  possessors,  the 
Avholeofthe  interior  of  the  same. 

That  he  does  not  know,  nor  has  he  ever  heard,  that  the 
Spaniards  had  Imilt  any  stronglmlds  at  ("uynni  nor  at  its  sur- 
roundings, with  few  imr  many  trooj)s,  Imt  he  is  persuaded  that 
Mr.de  Gravesand  has  imagined  to  he  such  the  two  Missions  or 
Indian  settlements  founde(l  hy  the  Catalan  Capuchin  Fathers 
in  seventeen  hundred  and  iilty-seven  and  seventeen  hundretl 
and  sixty-one,  on  the  noithei'n  margin  of  the  Yuruari  river, 
emptying  into  the  Cuyuni,  at  a  distance  of  seventy  leagues 
from  the  destroyed  Dutch  harrack. 

That  the  reason  he  has  to  think  so,  is  hecause  he  has  no 
other  estahlishment  on  that  side,  and  although  there  is  no 
more  ti'oop  than  one  soldier  in  each  of  these  settlements,  for 
the  escort  of  the  Missioners,  the  ('arilis,  whom  'Sir.  t]r  (rrave- 
sand  heli(^ves,  as  he  exj)lains  himselt  in  his  rejtort,  may  have 
deceived  him  with  this  story  and  many  otliers  in  wliieh  his 
iinii<ensical  report  aliounds. 

That  it  is  true  that  in  Fehruary  of  last  year  the  Reverend 
l''atlier  Prefect  having  given  permission  to  the  Reverend 
Father  Fr.  Josef  de  Cervera  and  to  the  deponent  to  go  down 
to  the  mouths  of  the  Orinoco  and  Barima  rivers  to  look 
alter  the  Aruacas  and  Guaraunos,  Indian  deserters  from  the 
INFissions  under  fheii  charge,  they  proceeded  with  their  launch 
and  escort,  ami  fdund  the  dis[)ersed  Indians  between  (Juayne 
and  Moruca,  and  while  gathering  them  they  reached  a  ]>ost 
where  the  Hollander  had  three  Indian  women  and  their  chil- 
dren, whom  he  had  enslave<l  and  removed  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Orinoco,  as  they  stated.  They  were  brought  back  to  the 
Mi.ssions  without  any  violence  or  harm  to  the  Dutch.  On 
the  contrary,  in  order  to  favor  the  Cor})oral  of  said  post,  who 
asked  on  his  knees,  and  crying,  that  the  deponent  and  his 
comj^anlons,  for  the  love  of  God,  would  give  him  an  exculpa- 
tion in  tlu'  shape  of  a  certiticate  to  satisfy  the  Governor  of 
l->i|uivo.  the  dcpoiu'iit  and  his  comjianion,  without  sus{)ecting 


■205 

the  malice  of  his  pretensions,  and  moved  to  pity,  gave  him  a 
certificate  so  ample  that  they  exceeded  their  bounds,  stating 
that  they  had  a  permit  from  the  Governor  and  Commander- 
General  of  Orinoco  and  Guayana  to  go  as  far  as  that  place, 
when,  in  fact,  the  passport  held  by  the  pilot  of  the  launch  w;is 
definitely  limited  to  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  having  no  per- 
mit to  go  to  any  other  place,  nor  any  other  orders  than  those 
from  our  Prelate. 

That  in  regard  to  tlie  Post  and  commercial  house  supposed 
by  de  Gravesand  to  have  been  held  by  the  Dutch  Company 
between  Guayne  and  Povaron,  the  deponent  does  not  know, 
nor  has  he  ever  heard  anything  about  such  an  establishment. 

That  he  has  not  heard  of  the  death  of  tlie  Corporal  of  the 
Arincla  Barrack,  towards  the  source  of  the  Esquivo,  nor  even 
of  its  existence,  and  that  lie  finds  incredible  that  the  Spaniards 
of  Orinoco  and  the  Indians  of  our  ac(|uaintance  and  depend- 
ence may  have  committed  this  homicide,  because  there  is  such 
a  long  and  unknown  distance  from  the  Orinoco  to  that  place; 
that  we  have  never  heard  of  such  a  death,  and  this  is  the  first 
time  that  we  hear  the  name  of  the  Arinda  Barrack,  that,  being 
situated  as  de  Gravesand  says,  towards  the  source  of  the  Es- 
quivo, it  is  inaccessible  for  us  and  the  Indians,  because  the 
Esquivo  Colony  is  found  between  said  sources  and  our  settle- 
ments, preventing  tlie  pass. 

That  the  deponent  has  not  heard,  nor  has  he  seen,  that  the 
Hollanders  had  any  fisheries  at  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  nor 
that  the  Spaniards  had  to  stop  them  ;  tliat  he  can  not  under- 
stand that  they  have  any  necessity  of  such  a  fishery  at  the 
mouth  ot  the  Orinoco,  when  they  can  provide  themselves  with 
plenty  of  fish  much  nearer  to  the  Esquivo  ;  that  he  is  per- 
suaded that  now,  under  the  pretext  of  fishing,  they  want  to 
establish  freely  with  their  vessels  at  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco, 
so  as  to  resume  and  facilitate  their  furtive  shipments  of  mules 
from  the  Guarapiche  and  Guaruapo  districts,  Barinas  tobacco, 
hides,  and  other  products  of  the  Spanish  Provinces,  with  which 
they  benefited  considerably  their  Colony,  when  the  Orinoco 
and  its  creeks  were  not  so  well  guarded  as  they  are  now. 
That  this  novelty  and  the  want  of  commerce  is  the  true  cause- 


of  the  (lecatlcnce  of  Es(juivip.  aiitl  llie  I'ociitiiicnt  oi"  Mr.  dc 
GravesaiK],  lir.^t  merchant,  ami  always  tlic  most  iutci-estcd  in 
tlie  illicit  trade  of  tlie  Colony. 

That  it  is  false  that  tlic  Spaniards  had  stojijicd  the  ahove 
meutioned  fisheries  in  the  territory  that  de  Gravesand  considei'S 
part  of  tlie  State,  extending  from  the  Mareguine  river  to  this 
side  of  the  Guayne,  ver}''  near  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco;  that 
supposition,  the  deponent  says,  is  an  intolerable  error. 

In  regard  to  the  slave  deserters  fi'om  Esquivo,  the  deponent 
says  that  there  are  two  kinds  of  them  ;  the  negroes  jnirehased 
from  Afriea  and  the  Indians  taken  l)y  the  Hollanders  (unduly 
and  cruelly,  by  means  of  the  Caribs),  their  allies,  from  our  do- 
minions, by  way  of  the  rivers  Moruca  and  Guayne  emptying 
into  the  sea  and  communicating  Avith  the  Orinoco,  or  else  by 
way  of  the  rivers  Cuj'uni,  Maserony,  Apanony  and  others  that 
bring  their  course  from  the  innermost  part  of  this  Province 
and  fall  into  the  Escjuivo.  That  in  regard  to  the  retention 
made  of  said  slaves,  the  reason  is  plain  for  our  conduct,  be- 
cause, being  the  vassals  of  the  King  and  cruell}'  enslaved  by 
tlie  Hollanders,  who  carry  on  this  inhuman  commerce  with 
the  Caribs  against  eveiw  law,  we  couhl  not  and  we  ought  not  to 
restore  them  to  slavery  when  they  are  hapj)y  enough  to  escape 
and  find  protection  under  the  Ministers  of  their  lawful  Lord 
and  Sovereign. 

In  regard  to  the  negroes,  the  deponent  says  that  it  is  not 
true  what  Gravesand  asserts,  because  notwithstanding  that  we 
know  that  two  negro  fugitive  slaves  from  this  city  were  sold 
at  the  Colony  of  Esquivo  by  said  Gravesand,  and  their  mas- 
ters, Don  Thomas  Franquiz  and  Catalina  de  Arocha,  claimed 
them,  they  did  not  receive  any  satisfaction  ;  sometimes  Grave- 
sand has  claimed  several  deserters  from  Esquivo,  and  their 
masters  luive  been  satisfied  to  sell  them,  as  it  had  been  done 
in  (hiayana,  and  the  i)rice  in  silver  taken  as  proceeds  to  Es- 
quivo, except  only  tho.se  slaves  that  come  to  enjoy  the  Ijenefit 
of  the  Catholic  religion,  who  are  set  free  1)V  the  King's  com- 
mand ;  that  neither  the  Indians  nor  the  fugitive  negroes  from 
Es(|uivo,  so  far  as  thede})onent  knows,  have  ever  been  induced 


207 

by  the  Spaniards  to  run  away,  nor  is  it  likely  that  such  was 
the  case. 

That  it  is  true  that  the  Colony  of  Esquivo  is  running  to  ruin 
visibly,  since  the  time  when  the  doors  have  been  shut  up  to 
their  illicit  commerce  which  they  used  to  carry  on  with 
Orinoco,  and  the  Poytos  have  found  open  the  wa\^  to  their 
freedom,  whenever  the}^  can  escape  ;  and,  finally,  the  deponent 
says  tliat  it  is  false  that  the  Si)aniards  may  have  killed  any 
Dutch  Guard,  nor  had  attacked  any  other  Post  than  that  of 
the  Cuyuni,  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  fifiy-eight,  at 
the  time  when  one  man  was  killed,  and  found  out  to  be  a 
Spanish  soldier. 

And  he  adds  that  he  had  been  for  five  years  an  Apostolic 
Missionary  of  this  Province,  and  his  experience  enables  him  to 
say  that  the  suggestions  of  the  Esquivo  Hollanders  and  their 
detestable  commerce  in  Poytos,  is  the  reason  why  all  the 
Caribs  and  other  savage  tribes  have  not  been  settled  in  our 
Missions,  as  they  are  continually  working  under  the  direction 
of  the  Hollanders,  in  destroying  our  settlements  through 
various  means,  such  as  setting  them  on  fire,  as  they  did  in 
seventeen  hundred  and  fifty,  attacking  them  openl}^  by  force, 
or  through  diabolical  and  artful  means  making  them  revolt, 
so  that  within  the  time  that  the  Reverend  Fathers  of  the 
Order  of  the  deponent  have  been  working,  the  Hollanders,  in 
compan}^  with  the  Caribs,  have  destroyed,  as  may  be  seen  by 
the  judicial  proceedings  on  the  subject,  seven  formal  settle- 
ments, without  counting  those  of  the  Jesuits  and  Observant 
Fathers,  set  on  fire  or  destroyed,  killing  at  the  same  time 
many  Reverend  Fathers. 

All  the  contents  of  this  statement  he  knows  personally  and 
have  been  reported  by  the  oldest  Reverend  Father  Missioners 
and  other  persons  of  the  greatest  veracity,  and  he  affirms  and 
ratifies  the  same  under  his  oath  and  will  repeat  it  if  necessary. 
That  he  is  thirty-four  years  old. 

This  deposition  was  read  to  him,  and  he  says  that  it  is  the 
same  he  has  made,  and  is  well  and  faithfully  written,  and  that 
he  has  nothing  to  add  nor  withdraw  from  the  same,  and  signs 


208 

with  the  Conimanding  General  and  oursclvLS,  tlie  acting  wit- 
nesses, certifying  to  the  act. 

Don   Mani'kl  ('kntikiox — [Ikmc  is  a  llonrish]. 

Vr.   Fa'aax   me  T  a  It  i;  AG  a, 

Apostolic  Missionary — [here  is  a  llonrish]. 

Diego  Icjxacio  Mari.no — [here  is  a  llonrish]. 

EsTEBAN   -Mamtinkz — [liere  is  a  llonrish]. 


5.  In  thi'  sail!  eity  of  (inayana,  on  thr  twenty-seventh  of 
said  month  of  the  same  year,  continuing  this  proceeding,  in 
comi)liance  with  the  above  rule,  the  Tribunal  had  before  it 
Don  Felix  Ferreras,  Lieutenant  of  Infantry  of  the  Guard  of 
this  Province  of  Guayana,  who  was  duly  sworn  by  the  Com- 
mander General,  and  promised,  on  his  word  of  honor,  to  tell 
the  truth  of  all  that  he  knew  and  might  be  interrogated,  and 
being  examinecl  by  the  tenor  of  the  already-mentioned  paper, 
presented  by  the  Minister  of  Holland,  and  inserted  in  folios  1 
to  6  of  this  proceeding,  and  having  been  read  to  him  lor  his 
better  intelligence,  he  said  : 

That  the  Hollanders  had  not,  nor  ever  had  been  in  posses- 
sion of  the  rivers  nor  rivulets  emptying  into  the  sea  from  the 
Esquivo  exclusive,  down  to  the  month  of  the  Orinoco;  that  it 
had  only  been  tolerated  on  that  side,  their  small  guard  of  two 
Enropeans  and  several  Indians  in  a  barrack  which  they  call 
the  Post,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Moruca  river,  called  by  the 
Hollanders  Maroco,  and  that  this  establishment  is  not  ol  time 
'piasi  immemorial,  because  the  said  Colony  is  not  so,  and  we 
know  that  it  connnenced  about  the  middle  of  the  last  cen- 
tury. 

That  it  is  untrue  that  the  Hollanders  have  had  or  now  have 
possession  of  the  Cuyuni  river  there  (called  by  them  Cayoeny), 
because  when  they  established  there  a  guard  and  barrack  like 
that  of  Moruca,  in  the  year  of  seventeen  hundred  and  forty- 
seven,  to  facilitate  the  inhuman  commerce  and  trade  in  In- 
dians, whom  they  enslaved  surreptitiously  in  the  dominions 
of  the  King  our  Lord,  for  tiie  cultivation  of  the  plantations 
and    iin])rovement  of   the  Colony,  as  soon  as   the  Spaniards 


209 

heard  of  the  case,  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  forty- 
seven,  when  the  deponent  was  in  command  ad  interim  of  the 
okl  Guayana,  they  were  dislodged  from  there,  and  so  it  is  that 
neither  in  the  Cuyuni,  Maserony,  Apanony,  nor  other  rivers 
emptying  into  the  Esquivo,  have  the  Hohanders  any  posses- 
sions, nor  is  it  tolerable  that  they  should,  because  those  rivers 
cover  nearly  the  whole  territory  of  the  Province  of  Guayana, 
running  from  their  western  source,  where  they  begin,  down  to 
the  eastern  limit,  emptying  into  the  Esquivo  river;  it  should 
result  from  the  supposed  possession  that  the  Hollanders  were 
the  masters  of  nearly  the  whole  extensive  Province  of  Gua- 
yana, and  that  Spaniards  had  no  more  of  it  than  the  said 
banks  of  the  Orinoco,  which  is  an  absurdity. 

That  the  Hollanders  are  only  tolerated  on  the  margins  of 
the  Esquivo  river,  from  its  mouth  to  the  Cuyuni,  where  they 
have  a  Post  called  by  them  Old  Castle.  That  the  Esquivo 
runs  from  S.  E.  to  N.  W.,  almost  parallel  with  the  ocean  coast, 
the  oriental  terminus  of  this  Province,  leaving  free  the  inte- 
rior of  it  to  the  Spaniards,  their  lawful  possessors. 

That  he  does  not  know  or  has  ever  heard  that  the  Span- 
iards had  built  any  Fort  on  the  Cuyuni,  nor  its  surroundings 
with  many  or  few  troops,  because  in  that  part  we  have  no  more 
establishments  than  the  two  Missions  or  Indian  settlements, 
Guaceypati  and  Cavallaju,  founded  by  the  Reverend  Catalan  Ca- 
puchin Fathers,  in  the  years  seventeen  hundred  and  fifty-seven 
and  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty-one,  at  the  northern  margin 
of  the  Yuruari  river, emptying  into  the  Cuyuni,  distant  seventy 
leagues  from  the  destroyed  Dutch  Barrack,  that  in  said  Mis- 
sions there  is  but  one  soldier  in  each  one  for  the  escort  of  the 
Missionaries.  That  what  happened  about  February  of  last 
year,  at  the  Post  of  Maruca,  the  deponent  does  not  know  any- 
thing, as  he  was  at  that  time  serving  on  a  detachment  at  Rio 
Negro. 

That  in  regard  to  the  Post  and  commercial  house,  supposed 
by  Gravesand  to  have  been  kept  by  the  Dutch  Company,  be- 
tween Guayne  and  Pomaron,  he  has  not  heard  anything  about 
such  an  establishment.  Neither  has  he  any  news  of  the  death 
of  the  Corporal  of  the  Arinda  Barrack,  towards  the  source  of 

Vol.  If,  Ven.— U 


210 

the  I*'s(|uiv(»,  nor  t'Vi'ii  nf  tin- oxistciicc  of  tlir  sniuc  ;  tlmt  ho 
finds  incrcilihlc  tli;it  tlif  S|i;iiii;ii'<ls  of  ()i'iii(ic()  or  tlir  Imliaii.s 
of  our  actiuaintaiicc  and  ilc|M-iiil(Micc  had  ctlrctcd  this  homi- 
cide, because,  besides  the  hmu'  and  uuluiown  distance  and  the 
intermediate  territoi'v  tVoni  the  ()i-inoeo  to  that  ]dace,  ht'  has 
never  heard  ol"  sueh  a  ease,  and  this  is  thi'  hrst  time  that  lie 
hears  tlie  name  of  the  Arinda  liarraeks. 

That  the  (h'poncnt  has  never  seen  or  hi-ard  that  the  Hol- 
hmiiers  had  made  any  lishei'ies  at  the  mouth  of  ()i'inoco.  nor 
thai  the  S]»aniards  had  had  to  stop  them  :  that  only  last  year 
of  seventeen  humh'cd  and  sixiy  Lieutenant  Don  Juan  de 
Flores  seized  a  schooner  and  two  hiunchcs  li-om  Esquivo,  on 
the  Orinoco  and  Barima  i-ivers,  while  cruisiui;  in  (|uest  of  some 
HoHanders  that  were  purchasing  Poytos  around  those  creeks, 
from  the  Caribs  ;  that  said  vessels  were  condemned  and  confis- 
cated by  the  Government  of  Cumana,  from  which  (iuayana 
was  dependent  at  tlie  time. 

That  it  is  rather  susj)icious.  in  the  opinion  of  the  deponent, 
the  pretension  of  tiiese  fislieries  by  the  HolhuuU'rs  on  tlie 
mouth  of  Orinoco,  as  they  can  be  provided  with  plenty  of  fish 
from  places  much  neai'er  to  tlie  JOs(piivo,  and  that  he  is  per- 
suaded that  under  the  pretext  of  fisheries  the  Hollanders 
desire  to  establish  freely  with  their  v(^ssels  at  tlu'  mouth  of  the 
Orinoco,  in  order  to  resume  and  I'aeilitate  the  furtive  shi])ment 
of  mules  li'om  the  (Juarapiche  and  (uiaruapo.  ami  {Carinas 
tobacco,  hides,  and  other  i)roduets  from  the  .Spanish  Provinces 
with  which  they  used  to  improve  considerably  their  Colony, 
when  the  Orinoco  and  its  creeks  were  not  so  well  u'uardeil  as 
they  are  now.  That  this  novelty  and  want  of  commerce  is 
tlie  true  cause  oi"  the  re-entment  of  Mr.  de  Gravosand,  Director 
of  Esquivo,  and  the  mosi  interested  in  the  illicit  commerce  of 
the  Colony. 

That  it  is  not  true  that  said  lishei'ies  ha\-e  been  jn'cvented 
by  the  Spaniards  in  the  territoi'v  which  (Jiavesaud  calls  terri- 
tory of  the  same  State  extendiiiu,  as  he  says,  fiom  the  Mare- 
guine  river  to  this  side  of  the  ( iuayiu',  very  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Orinoco;  said  supposition  the  deponent  says  is  a  very 
serious  eri-or. 

In  regard  to  the  slaves,  deserters  from  ]']squivo.  the  de])on(>nt 


211 

says  that  there  are  two  kinds,  negroes  purchased  from  Africa 
and  Indians,  whom  the  Hollanders  bring  unduly  and  cruelly, 
or  cause  the  Caribs,  their  allies,  to  be  brought  to  them  from 
our  dominions,  by  way  of  the  IMoruca  and  Guayne  rivers, 
emptying  into  the  sea  and  communicating  with  the  Orinoco, 
or  else  by  way  of  the  rivers  Cuyuni,  Ahiserony,  Apanony,  and 
others,  bringing  their  course  from  the  innermost  part  of  this 
Province  and  emptying  into  the  Esquivo,  and  that  the  latter 
have  never  been  claimed  by  the  Hollanders,  who  are  conscious 
of  the  crime  of  their  accpiisition,  because  in  this  inhuman  com- 
merce they  cause  the  slaughter  of  a  great  many  innocent  In- 
dians, so  as  to  enslave  others  against  the  law  of  nations. 

In  regard  to  the  negroes,  the  deponent  says  that  it  is  untrue 
what  Mr.  de  Gravesand  states,  because  nothwithstanding  that 
it  is  known  that  two  fugitive  negro  slaves  of  this  city  to  the 
Colony  of  Esquivo  were  sold  there  by  said  Gravesand,  and 
allhough  their  owners,  Don  Thomas  Franquiz  and  Augustina 
Catalina  de  Arocha,  residents  of  Guayana,  had  claimed  them, 
they  have  had  no  satisfaction  ;  several  times  Mr.  de  Gravesand 
has  claimed  from  liere  some  negro  slaves,  deserters  from 
Escpiivo,  whose  masters  have  been  satisfied  with  their  sale 
effected  here  in  Guayana,  and  taken  back  to  Esquivo  the  pro- 
ceeds in  silver,  except  only  those  slaves  that  in  order  to  enjoy 
the  benefit  of  the  Catholic  religion  escape  and  are  made  free  by 
command  of  the  King  ;  that  neither  the  Indians  nor  the  fugi- 
tive negroes  from  Esquivo,  as  far  as  the  deponent  knows,  have 
ever  been  induced  by  the  Spaniards  to  run  away,  nor  is  it 
likely  that  anybody  should  venture  to  take  such  a  step  at  the 
risk  of  being  hung  at  Esquivo.  That  it  is  true  that  the  Colony 
goes  to  ruin  since  the  doors  have  been  shut  up  for  the  illicit 
commerce  that  they  carried  on  before  with  the  Orinoco,  and 
the  Poytos  or  slaves  have  found  open  the  way  to  recover  their 
freedom,  by  escaping. 

Finally,  he  says,  that  it  is  absolutely  false  that  the  Spaniards 
had  killed  any  Dutch  Guard  or  Guards,  nor  attacked  any 
other  Post  than  that  of  Cuyuni,  in  the  year  of  seventeen  hnn- 
deed  and  fifty-eight,  when  only  one  man  died,  and  that  was 
one  of  the  Spanish  soldiers. 

And  he  adds  that  he  has  been  established   in  this  Province 


212 

iVir  the  last  thirty-three  years,  aiul  with  that  cxiicriciicc  he 
must  say  that  the  suggestions  of  the  Hollanders  of  Es(iuiv(), 
and  their  detestable  comineree  in  Poytos,  is  the  cause  why  all 
the  Caribs  have  not  been  settled  in  our  Missions,  as  well  as 
many  other  savage  tribes,  workiiii;'  contjiuially  uiidci-  tlic  spur 
of  the  Hollanders  in  dest  roving  our  settlements  through  various 
ways — Setting  them  on  tire,  as  done  in  seventeen  Inmdred  and 
tiftv,  attacking  them  by  open  force,  oi- revolting  them  through  a 
diabolical  and  artful  policy  ;  that  only  during  the  time  tiiat 
he  knows  of  the  Missions  of  the  Reverend  Catalan  Capuchins 
of  this  Province,  the  Hollanders  united  with  the  Caribs  have 
destroyed  nine  formal  settlements,  without  counting  those  of 
the  Jesuit  Missionaries  and  Observant  Fathers,  set  on  fire  and 
destroyed,  killing  likewise  many  Fathers  as  well  as  some  sol- 
diers, and  that  nearly  in  all  these  occasions  they  fuuml  naked 
Hollanders  dyed  like  the  Caribs. 

That  all  that  he  has  stated  is  true  under  his  oath,  and  that 
he  allirms  and  ratifies  the  same  and  will  rejieat  it  il'  necessary, 
and  that  he  is  fifty-seven  years  old. 

Having  read  to  him  his  deposition,  he  said  that  it  is  the 
same  that  he  has  made,  and  that  it  is  wi'll  and  faithlnlly  writ- 
ten, and  he  has  nothing  to  add  nor  withdraw  from  it,  and 
signed,  with  said  Commander  General  and  our.selves,  the  act- 
ing witnesses,  certilying  to  the  act. 

Don  Manuel  Centuriox — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

Felix  Fekreras — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

I)iEC40  Ignacio  Marin'O — [here  is  a  tiourisl.i]. 

EsTEiJAN  MAirriXKZ — [here  is  a  llourish]. 


').  On  the  twenty-eighth  of  the  same  month  and  year,  in  order 
to  Continue  this  investigation  in  com|)liance  witli  the  above 
I'ule,  this  Tribunal  had  before  it  J)on  Santiago  Pxmalde,  a  resi- 
dent of  this  city,  whom  the  Commander-General  had  duly 
sworn  in  legal  form,  and  who  promised  to  tell  the  truth  of 
what  lie  knew  and  udght  be  interrogate<l,  as  it  was  done  l)y 
the  tenor  of  the  pajxT  presented  l)y  the   .Minister  of  Holland, 


213 

inserted  in  folios  one  to  six  of  these  acts,  whicli  was  read  to 
him,  word  for  word,  for  his  guidance,  and  he  said  : 

That  the  Holh^nders  had  not,  or  ever  had,  been  in  pos- 
session of  the  rivers  or  rivulets  emptying  into  the  sea  from 
the  Esquivo  exclusive  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco; 
th;it  it  has  been  only  tolerated,  on  that  [)art,  their  snuill  Guard 
of  two  Europeans  and  several  Indians,  in  a  Barrack  which 
they  call  the  Post,  on  the  eastern  margin  of  the  Moruca  river, 
which  the  Hollanders  call  Maroco ;  that  this  establishment  is 
not  of  time  quasi-immemorial,  because  the  Colony  itself  is  not, 
for  we  know  that  it  was  only  commenced  about  the  middle  of 
the  last  century. 

Tiiat  it  is  not  true  that  the  Hollanders  have  ever  had  posses- 
sion of  the  river  Cuyuni  (called  by  them  Cayoeny) ;  that  when 
they  established  a  Guard  and  Barrack,  like  that  of  Moruca,  in 
the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  forty-seven,  to  facilitate  the 
inhuman  commerce  and  trade  in  Indians,  whom  they  enslaved 
surreptitiously  in  the  dominions  of  the  King  our  Lord,  for  the 
cultivation  of  tlie  plantations  and  improvement  of  the  Colony, 
as  soon  as  the  fact  came  to  the  notice  of  the  Spaniards,  in  the 
year  seventeen  hundred  and  fifty-seven,  they  were  dislodged 
from  there  b}'  the  de[)onent,  who  with  some  troop  was  detached 
to  perform  this  duty  by  the  Commander  ad  interim  of  the  old 
Guayana,  and  so  it  is  that  neither  the  Cuyuni,  Maserony,  Apa- 
nony,  nor  the  other  rivers  entering  into  the  Esquivo,  have  been 
in  possession  of  the  Hollanders,  nor  is  it  tolerable  that  they 
should  have  been,  because  said  river  embraces  nearly  the  whole 
territory  of  the  Province  of  Guayana,  running  from  their  west- 
ern terminus,  where  they  begin,  down  to  the  eastern  limit, 
emptying  into  the  Esquivo  river,  as  it  should  result  from  the 
supposed  possession  that  the  Hollanders  would  be  the  masters 
of  nearly  the  whole  extensive  Province  of  Guayana,  and  that 
the  Spaniards  had  no  more  than  the  said  margins  of  the  Ori- 
noco, which  is  an  absurdity  ;  that  the}'  are  only  tolerated  and 
established  at  the  margins  of  the  Esquivo  river  from  its  mouth 
up  to  that  of  Cuyuni,  where  they  have  a  Post  which  they  call 
Old  Castle;  that  the  Esquivo  runs  from  the  S.  E.  to  the  N.W., 
nearly  parallel  with  the  ocean  coast,  the  eastern  terminus  of 


214 

this  Province  of  Guayaiia,  and  leaves  free  tbi-  iiit(iii»r  of  the 
saiiio  to  tlie  S|iaiiiard.s,  tlic-ii-  lawful  possessore. 

That  he  (jofs  not  know  iior  has  he  over  licaitl  thai  the 
SjKinianls  li.id  any  stron^liold  at  the  Cnyiini  nor  its  sur- 
roundinii's  with  many  nnr  a  few  troo{)s;  that  on  that  si<h' there 
is  no  niore  fstaldislinifiit  than  the  two  Missions  oi'  Indian 
settlements  of  Gua.coypati  and  Cavallajii,  foundcil  hy  the  Cata- 
lan Capuchin  Fathers  in  the  years  seventeen  liuiidred  and  fifty- 
seven  and  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty-one,  on  the  northern 
margin  of  the  Yiiruari  River,  emptying  into  the  Cuyuni,  and 
at  a  distance  of  seventy  leagues  fi'om  tlie  destroyed  Dutcli 
Barrack;  that  in  said  Missions  there  is  no  more  troop  tiian 
one  soldier  in  each  (ine  for  the  escort  of  the  Missioners. 

That  alM»ut  the  occurrence  in  Feljrnary  of  last  year  at  the 
Post  of  Moruca,  he  only  knows  that  the  Caj»uchin  Fathers 
that  went  to  that  jtlace  brought  back  the  fugitive  Indian  de- 
serters I'roni  their  settlements,  who  had  gone  to  those  creeks 
and  prairit.'s  between  Ciuayne  and  Moruca,  and  that  having 
reached  said  Barrack,  the  Post  of  the  Hollanders,  and  found 
that  the  Dutch  Corporal  kept  there  as  slaves  two  or  thi'ee 
Indian  natives  of  our  doininions,  he  Ijrought  them  back  to  the 
Missions,  without  doing  any  harm  or  hostilities  to  the  Hol- 
landers. 

That  in  regard  to  the  Post  and  commereial  house  that 
Gravesand  supposes  to  iiave  been  kept  by  the  Company  be- 
tween Guayne  and  Povaron,  he  does  not  know  nor  has  ever 
heard  anything  about  such  an  establislnnent. 

That  he  has  not  heard  of  the  Corporal  of  the  Arinda  Barrack, 
towards  tlie  source  of  the  Estpiivo,  nor  even  of  the  existence  of 
tlie  same:  and  that  he  finds  im[)ossible  that  ttie  Spaniards  of 
the  Orinoco,  or  the  Indians  of  our  accjunintanee  and  depend- 
ence, have  peipetrated  this  liomicide,  on  account  of  the  long 
distance,  uid<nown  to  us,  and  the  intermediate  territory  between 
the  ( )riii()Co  and  I  hat  place  :  that  he  never  iieiird  of  such  a  death, 
iiml  that  this  is  the  first  time  that  lie  hears  the  name  of  the 
Arinda  Bai'rack. 

That  the  deponent  has  not  seen  or  lieai'd  that  the  Holland- 
ers have  kept  tisheries  at  the   mouth   of  the  ()rinoco,  nor  that 


215 

the  Spaniards  had  to  stop  them  ;  that  only  on  the  la&t  year  of 
seventeen  hundred  and  sixty,  Lieutenant  Don  Juan  de  Flores 
seized  a  schooner  and  two  launches  from  Esquivo,  on  the  Ori- 
noco and  Barima  rivers,  while  going  on  a  cruise  after  some 
Hollanders  purchasing  Poytos  in  those  creeks,  from  the  Caribs  ; 
that  said  vessels  were  made  good  prizes  and  confiscated  by  the 
Government  of  Cuamana,  from  where  Guayana  was  a  depend- 
ence at  that  time  ;  that  the  deponont  suspects  that  the  preten- 
sions of  these  fisheries  by  the  Hollanders,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Orinoco,  when  they  have  plenty  offish  much  nearer  to  Esquivo, 
is  only  a  pretext,  so  as  to  establish  themselves  freely  with  their 
vessels  at  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  and  resume  and  facilitate 
the  fuitive  shipments  of  mules  from  Guarai»iche  and  Guaruapo, 
and  Barinas  tobacco,  hides,  and  otlier  products  from  tlie  Span- 
ish Provinces,  with  which  they  im[)roved  their  Colony  when 
the  Orinoco  and  the  creeks  were  not  as  well  guarded  as  they 
are  now.  This  novelty  and  the  want  of  commerce  is  the  true 
cause  of  the  resentment  of  Mr.  de  Gravesand,  Director  of  Es- 
Cjuivo,  and  most  interested  in  the  illicit  commerce  of  the 
Colony. 

That  it  is  not  true  that  said  fisheries  had  been  stopped  by 
the  Spaniards,  in  tlie  territory  called  by  Gravesand  territory 
of  the  same  State,  and  that  he  says  that  it  extends  from  the 
river  Mareguihe  to  this  side  of  the  Guayne,  very  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  a  supposition  that  the  deponent  calls  a 
serious  error. 

In  regard  to  the  slave  deserters  from  Esquivo,  the  deponent 
says  that  there  are  two  classes  of  them  :  the  negroes  purchased 
from  Africa  and  the  Indians  taken  unduly  and  cruelly  by  the 
Hollanders  or  by  their  allies,  the  Caribs,  under  their  spur,  from 
our  dominions,  by  way  of  the  rivers  Moruca  and  Guayne, 
emjitying  into  the  sea  and  in  communication  with  the  Ori- 
noco, or  else  i;)y  way  of  the  rivers  Cuyuni,  Maserony,  Apanony 
and  others,  running  from  the  innermost  part  of  this  Province 
and  emptying  into  the  Esquivo  ;  that  said  Indians  had  never 
been  claimed  by  the  Hollanders,  who  are  conscious  of  the 
crime  of  their  acquisition,  on  account  of  the  many  innocent 
parties  whose  lives  are  sacrificed,  for  the  choice  of  those  whom 


210 

tlioy  enslave,  in  carrying  out  tliis  inhuman  connncrce  against 
the  law  of  nations. 

That  in  regard  to  the  negroes,  the  dej)onent  says  that  Mr. 
de  (Iravesand  is  not  correct,  because,  notwithstanding  that 
two  fugitive  negro  slaves  from  this  city  went  to  the  p]squivo 
Colony  and  were  sold  there  by  said  (fravesand,  and  their  mas- 
ters, Don  Thomas  Franquiz  and  Augustina  Catalina  de  Arocha, 
residents  of  Guayana,  had  claimed  them  and  had  not  obtained 
any  satisfaction  ;  several  times  Gravesand  has  claimed  some 
negro  slave  deserters  from  Esquivo,  and  the  masters  having 
been  satisfied  with  theii'  sale  effected  in  (luayana.  liave  re- 
ceived the  proceeds  in  silver  and  taken  the  same  to  Esrjuivo; 
except  only  the  case  of  those  slaves  who,  in  order  to  enjoy  the 
benefit  of  our  Catholic  religion,  run  away  and  secure  here 
their  liberty  in  pursuance  of  the  King's  commands.  That 
neither  the  Indians  nor  the  lugitive  negroes  from  Esquivo,  as 
far  as  the  deponent  knows,  have  ever  been  induced  by  the 
Spaniards  to  escape,  nor  is  it  likely  that  anybody  should  have 
tried  to  do  so  at  the  risk  of  being  hung  at  Esqu'^vo. 

That  it  is  true  that  the  Colony  runs  to  ruin,  from  the  time 
when  the  doors  have  been  shut  to  the  illicit  commerce  carried 
on  at  Orinoco  before,  and  the  Poytos  or  slaves  tind  open  the 
way  to  their  freedom,  when  they  can  escape  from  there. 

And,  finally,  it  is  al)solutely  false  that  the  Spaniai'ds  had 
killed  any  Dutch  Guard  or  Guards,  or  attacked  any  other  Post 
held  by  them  than  that  of  Cuyuni,  in  the  year  seventeen 
hundred  and  fifty-eight,  when  only  one  man  died,  and  that 
was  a  Sj)anish  soldier. 

He  adds  that  he  had  been  for  the  last  twenty-seven  years 
established  in  this  Province,  and  can  safely  say,  as  he  ought 
to,  that  the  suggestions  of  the  Esquivo  Hollanders  and  their 
detestable  commerce  in  Poytos  are  the  cause  that  has  pre- 
vented the  settlement  of  all  the  Caribs  in  our  Missions,  and 
many  other  savage  tribes,  working  continually  under  the  Hol- 
landers' directions,  in  destroying  our  settlements  through 
various  ways,  such  as  setting  fire  to  them,  as  it  was  done  in 
the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  fifty,  or  attacking  them  by 
open  force,  or  revolting  them,  through  a  dialxilieal  and  artful 


217 

])olicy,  so  that  only  dnriug  the  time  that  the  deponent  has 
"been  acquainted  with  the  Missions,  under  the  Catalan  Capu- 
cdiin  Fathers  of  this  Province,  the  HoUanders  joined  with  the 
■Caribs  have  destroyed  nine  formil  settlements,  without  connt- 
ino-  those  of  the  Jesuit  Missionaries  and  Observant  Fathers  of 
the  Orinoco,  killing  also  manv  Reverend  Fathers,  besides  some 
:soldiers;  and  that  in  almost  all  these  occasions  some  Hol- 
landers have  been  found  painted  like  Caribs. 

That  what  he  has  deposed  is  the  truth  under  his  oath,  and 
that  he  ratifies  and  affirms  the  same  and  will  repeat  it  again 
if  necessary;  that  he  is  fifty-six  years  old;  and  having  heard 
diis  deposition  read,  he  says  it  is  the  same  that  he  has  stated, 
and  that  he  finds  it  well  and  faithfully  written,  and  has  noth- 
ing to  add  nor  to  withdraw  from  it,  and,  being  blind,  he 
directe(i  his  elder  son,  Santiago,  to  sign  in  his  name,  as  it  was 
done,  with  the  Commander  General  and  ourselves,  the  acting 
■witnesses,  certifying  to  the  act. 

Don  Manuel  Centurion — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

Francisco  Santiago  Bonalde — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

Diego  Ignacio  Marino — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

EsTEBAN  Martinez — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


Ride. — The  acting  witnesses  will  call  Cipriano  Mayorga  to 
render  his  statement  in  the  part  of  the  depositions  in  refer- 
■ence  to  him,  of  the  Reverend  Capuchin  Fathers  Fr.  Joseph 
Antonio  de  Cervera  and  Fr.  Felix  de  Tarraga,  Missionaries  of 
this  Province. 

It  was  so  ruled  at  the  cit}^  of  Guayana,  on  the  twenty-ninth 
■cla\'  of  March,  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy,  by  Don  Manuel 
■Centurion,  Commander  General  of  this   Province,  and  signed 
before  us,  the  acting  witnesses,  certifying  to  the  act. 
Centurion — [here  is  a  flourish]. 
Diego  Ignacio  Marino — [here  is  a  flourish]. 
EsTEB.iN  Martinez — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


We,  the  acting  witnesses,  immediately  afterwards  called  on 
'Cipriano   Mayorga,  the   pilot  of  the   launch   that  carried,  in 


218 

February  of  last  year,  the  Revereiiil  ( 'aiuicli  in  Missioners,  Fr. 
Joseph  Antonio  dc  ('crvora  and  l''r.  i^'flix  dr  Tari-aga,  to  brinix 
some  IiKlians  tV.nn  the  nmutli  ol'  the  ()rinn,-(),  ami  not  having" 
lunml  liiin  in  any  part  of  the  city,  \vv  have  Ween  told  that  he 
is  absent  on  board  the  cruising  launch  of  his  (•()ninian<l.  And 
we  certify  to  the  fact. 

l)ii';(i()    I(;xA('i()  Maimnii — [here  is  a  llourishj. 

EsTKiiAX   .MAirnxi:/ — [hci'c  is  a  flourish]. 


Witness  snmm'med. — iu  this  city,  on  the  thirtiutli  day  of  s  lid 
mouth  and  year,  in  order  to  verify  the  reference  made  in  the 
foregoing  depositions  in  regard  to  Don  Tomas  Franquiz,  he  ap- 
peared before  us,  the  acting  witnesses  of  the  Government's 
Tribunal,  and  after  havino"  been  duly  sworn,  according  to  the 
law  and  usage,  he  i)romised  to  tell  the  truth  of  what  he  knew 
and  would  be  interrogated,  and  having  been  examined  by  the 
Commander  General  in  regard  to  the  escape  of  a  slave  of  the 
witness,  reported  to  be  at  the  Colony  of  Es(|uivo,  he  (Icposed: 
That  it  is  true  that  about  the  end  of  the  year  seventeen  hun- 
dred and  sixty-six,  a  negro  shive  of  the  de[)onent  ran  away 
from  this  city  to  tlie  Colony  of  Esquivo,  the  name  of  said 
negro  is  Ambrosio,  and  went  along  with  another  negro  owned 
by  Augustina  de  Art^cha,  whose  name  is  Francisco;  t!iat 
through  several  deserters,  arrived  since  from  Esquivo  to  this 
city,  the  ileponent  has  been  informed  that  his  negro,  as  well  as 
tliat  of  Augustina  Arocha,  had  been  sold  in  Jvsquivo  to  a 
Lutheran  Parson  by  the  Governor  of  that  Colony,  after  having 
hi'M  them  at  work  in  his  own  plantation,  from  whei'c  they 
escaped,  and  thai  h<'  hidi  to  come  to  recover  them  from  the 
mouth  of  theOrini^co;  that  that  is  all  he  knows  and  can 
attest  on  this  subject,  under  tlu^  oath  he  has  taken,  and  tiiat 
he  ratifies  and  allirms  his  deposition,  and  will  repi;at  it  if 
necessary. 

Having  i-ead  to  him  his  statement,  he  said,  that  it  is  the  same 
he  has  made,  and  it  is  well  and  faithfully  written  ;  that  he  has 
nothini"'  to  aihl  nor  withdi'aw  from  the  same,  and  .sions  it  witli 


219 

the  Commander  General  and  ourselve.^,  the  acting  witnesses^ 
certifying  to  the  act. 

Don  Manuel  Centurion — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

Thomas  Franquiz — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

Diego  Ignacio  Mari5jo — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

EsTEBAN  Martinez — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


Another  ivitness. — In  the  same  city,  on  the  second  day  of 
April,  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy,  the  Tribunal  had  be- 
fore it  and  the  acting  witnesses,  Augustina  de  Arocha,  a  resi- 
dent of  Gua3^ana,  C{uoted  in  the  foregoing  deposition  ;  and  the 
said  Commander  General  had  her  duly  sworn  according  to 
law,  and  she  promised  to  tell  the  truth  of  what  she  knew  and 
might  be  interrogated,  and  she  was  asked  what  she  knew  in 
regard  to  the  slave  owned  by  the  deponent  and  said  to  have 
escaped  from  this  city  and  reached  the  colony  of  Esquivo, 
where  it  is  said  that  he  is,  and  she  deposed  :  That  it  is  true  that 
about  the  end  of  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty-six  a 
negro  slave  belonging  to  the  deponent  deserted  from  this  city 
for  the  Colony  of  Esquivo  with  another  negro  slave  belonging 
to  Don  Thomas  Franquiz,  the  first  called  Francisco  and  the 
second  Ambrosio ;  that  through  several  deserters,  arrived 
since  that  time  from  Esquivo  to  this  city,  she  had  been  in- 
formed that  both  her  negro  and  the  one  belonging  to  Franc[uiz 
have  been  sold  in  Esquivo  to  a  Lutheran  Parson  by  the  Gov- 
ernor of  that  Colony,  after  having  had  them  kept  working  in 
his  own  plantation,  from  where  they  escaped,  and  were  re- 
covered at  the  moutli  of  llie  Orinoco.  That  that  is  all  she 
knows  and  may  depose  on  the  subject  under  the  oath  tliat  she 
has  taken,  and  that  she  aflirms  and  ratifies,  and  will  re})eat 
again,  if  necessary,  her  deposition ;  tliat  she  is  forty-three 
years  old  ;  and  having  heard  her  statement,  she  says  that  it  is 
the  same  made  by  her,  and  is  well  and  faithfully  written;  that 
she  has  nothing  to  add  nor  to  withdraw  from  the  same,  and 
does  not  sign  it,  on  account  of  not  knowing  how  to  do  so,  and 
it  was  done  at  her  request  by  Don  Francisco  de  Amantegui^ 


220 

with   tlu-  said  ('oniiiufiiilt'r  (Jciicral   and   oiii^^clvcs.  the  acting 

witnesses,  certifyino-  to  the  act. 

Don  Manuel  CKNTUJUitN — [hero  is  a  iinuii.sh].  ^ 
Francisco  dk  Amantecjui — [hiTc  is  a  tlonrisli]. 
EsTEBAN  Mautinks — [here  is  a  lionrish]. 


Ixulc. — In  the  eity  of  Guayana,  on  the  fourth  day  of  April, 
seventeen  hun(h"ed  and  seventy,  being  in  his  Tribunal,  Don 
Manuel  ("entui'iou,  Connnandcr  General  of  this  Province,  with 
ourselves,  the  acting  witnesses,  he  said:  That  after  examining 
the  deposition  and  acts  of  the  present  [)roceeding  he  approved 
them  all  and  found  them  sufficient  for  the  justification  that, 
by  order  of  the  Iving,  had  been  instituted  in  regard  to  the  com- 
jtlaints  laid  before  liis  Majesty  by  the  Minister  of  Holland  in 
reference  to  the  conduct  of  the  Spaniards  of  Orinoco  against 
the  Colony  of  Esquivo,  and  in  consequence  I  rule  that  the 
acting  witnesses  draw  a  testimony  of  this  investigation  in  full, 
and  that  the  original  be  forwarded  to  the  King  our  Lord, 
through  his  Excellency,  the  Bailiff,  Fr.  Don  Julian  deArriaga; 
and  it  was  so  ruled  and  signed  by  said  Commander  General, 
with  ourselves,  the  acting  witnesses,  for  want  of  a  Notary  Public, 
and  on  common  j)a})er,  as  no  stamped  is  found  in  this  Province. 
We  certify  to  the  fact. 

Don  Manuel  Centurion — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

Diego  Ignacio  Marino — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

EsTEiiAN  Martini:/ — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


The  foregoing  coj)}'  agrees  with  the  original  document  exist- 
ing at  the  General  Archives  of  the  Indies  in  Stand  131 — Case 
7— Docket  17.     Seville,  Deccml)er  the  0th,  181»0. 

Tlie  Clnef  of  Archives. 

Carlos  Jimenez  Placer — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

[seal.] — General  Archives  of  the  Indies. 


The  undersigned,  Consul  General  of  the  United  States  in 
■-Spain,  VenezAiela  certifies  to  the  authenticity  of  the  signature 


221 

of  Don  Carlos  Jimenez  Placer,  Chief  of  the  General  Archives- 
of  the  Indies. 

:\Iadrid,  December  24th,  1890. 

P.    FORTOULT    HURTADO. 


The  undersigned,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  of  the  United 
States  of  Venezuela,  certiiies  to  the  authenticity  of  the  signa- 
ture of  Sefior  Pedro  Fortoult  Hurtado,  Consul  General  of  Ven- 
ezuela in  Spain  at  the  preceding  date. 

Caracas,  March  the  6th,  1896. 

P.    EZEQUIEL    ROJAS. 

[seal.] — Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs. 


222 
No.  XIII. 

Stand  131.  — Crtse  2.  — Docket  18. 
Gexekai-   ARCHivEiOF  thkIndies. — (Skville.) 


1771. 


't(<'r  No.  iil>  IVoiii  tbe  Coninian<ler  ol"  Oiiayana,  Don 
>l:iiiu('l  ("t'lit  urion,  to  the  IJailitf,  l-^r.  Don  .Tuliaii  «le 
Arriaj^a,  j.;iviiij;  an  a<'<-ouiit  ol"  thr  «'xiKMlit  ion  tliat  lie 
lia<l  sent  to  oec-upy  <  lu'  Parinie  Lake  and  to  explore 
I'.l  Dorado  and  to  redn<'<'  tlie  Indians  inhabiting'  that 
rejiiou. 


GuAYANA.  December  2Sth,  1771. 


1771.— No.  20.— ^[ost  Excellent  Sir. 

Dear  Sir:  llaviiio-  constantly  followed,  from  the  time  of 
my  iissum|iti(»ii  of  this  command,  the  sound  ideas  and  laudaliK' 
.si)irit  of  my  cliicf.  ])oii  .loscf  Solano,  to  penetrate  into  this  un- 
known country  and  icducf  the  innumerable  gentiles  who  in- 
habit its  iorests,  as  is  shown  by  the  accompanying  testimony, 
1  rendered  an  account  on  the  third  of  November  of  last  year, 
to  his  Excellency,  the  \'ieeroy  of  the  State  of  this  Province,  of 
the  progress  obtained  in  the  reduction  of  Indians  and  advance- 
iiii'iit  in  the  <'ounti'v  :  tlic  necessity  to  advance,  witii  a  res]tect- 
able  detachment,  to  st(.){)  the  foreigners  who  from  the  Ama- 
zonas  and  Ocean  coast  are  penetrating  inland  towards  the 
I'ai'ime  Lake,  tlie  center  of  this  most  extensive  Province,  and 
domicile  of  a  multitude  of  Indians,  that  flying  from  the  Euro- 
j)eans,  reach  its  surroundings,  and  from  the  beginning  with- 
drew to  those  mountains,  where  they  consider  themselves  free 
from  intruder.s. 


223 

To  accomplish  this  object  I  requested  the  help  of  Your  Ex- 
cellency, but  in  the  letter  of  the  seventh  of  last  March  of  the 
present  year,  wliile  urging  that  I  should  omit  no  reasonable 
means  to  accomplish  this  difficult  and  expensive  enterprise. 
Your  Excellency  denies  me  every  kind  of  help,  as  it  is  shown 
by  the  accompanying  coj)y,  and  even  on  the  tliirtieth  of  last 
November,  I  told  Your  Excellency  that  in  the  absence  of  sup- 
port, it  was  not  possible  to  advance  my  steps  in  this  affair. 

Since  that  time,  a  Caj)tain  from  Parime  with  a  hirge  retinue 
has  reached  this  city,  attracted  by  the  gifts  wliich  I  have  pre- 
sented him,  and  the  kind  treatment  given  to  the  Indians  newly 
reduced  from  the  Erevato  river  and  the  sources  of  the  Caura, 
and  he  has  promised  to  leave  his  women  and  children  as  host, 
ages,  and  lead  the  Spaniards  that  I  will  send  to  the  Parime 
lake  and  place  them  in  possession  of  the  renowned  mountain 
of  El  Dorado,  and  to  reduce  peacefully  to  our  devotion  most 
of  the  chief  barbarous  tribes  who  keep  and  inhabit  its  sur- 
roundings. And  in  order  not  to  miss  this  opportunity,  facili- 
tating now  what  was  before  thought  impossible  and  imaginary, 
I  have  endeavored  to  furnish  the  necessary  supplies  to  the 
strongest  expedition  that  in  the  middle  of  my  greatest  indi- 
gencies I  liave  managed  to  send,  on  the  twenty-third  instant, 
according  to  the  terms  expressed  in  my  instructions  herewith. 

I  can  not  flatter  myself  with  the  promises  of  this  Indian.  He 
says  that  El  Dorado  is  a  high  mountaiii,  without  any  other 
plants  than  straw,  and  that  everywhere  on  the  surface  it  shows 
cones  or  pyramids  of  gold,  one-third  of  a  yard  high  and  half 
of  a  yard  in  diameter,  and  others  of  smaller  sizes;  that  when 
the  sun  shines  their  glow  is  so  vivid  that  it  dazzles  the  sight, 
and  can  not  be  seen  without  offending  the  eyes;  and  that  tfie 
neighboring  Indians  guard  the  secret  inviolably,  to  conceal 
it  from  the  Caribs  and  other  Indians  trading  with  the  Hol- 
landers and  Portuguese.  But  there  is  no  doubt  that  those 
frontiers  are  uncovered,  and  that  there  are  very  many  gentile 
Indians  to  be  reduced  to  our  iioly  religion,  and  that  in  order 
to  secure  the  greatest  and  most  precious  territory  of  this  exten- 
sive Province,  it  is  imperative  to  reach  it  in  time,  in  order  to 
occupy  the  precious  avenues  of  that  great  lake  and  rivers  flow- 


224 

ing  tVoiii  it  in  tin-  direction  of  the  I)iitcli.  Frciicii.  ami  Portii- 
jLiuese  Colonies  on  the  ocean  coast  and  the  Amazon  river.  It 
is  trne  that  this  journey  (until  tlie  country  hccoiiies  well 
known  and  })0ssessed  of  a  goo<l  land  road  )  i>  lonij,  and  ialiorious^ 
on  account  of  the  turns  and  windings  of  thr  rivrrs  and  their 
many  rapids,  and  the  grounding  places,  through  which  the  hoats 
liave  to  be  dragged,  changing  from  one  river  to  another,  require- 
no  less  than  three  months  of  very  expensive  travel,  and  almost 
all  through  deserts  and  unknown  land-;  IVoin  this  city  to  Pa  rime; 
hut  if  it  meets  the  approval  of  your  l-]xcellency.  and  the  King- 
feels  satisfied,  we  shall  have  this  glory  and  the  best  satisfac- 
tion for  our  fatigues.  Meantime,  with  the  same  affectionate 
attachment  to  your  Excellency,  and  -uhject  to  your  orders,  I 
jiray  the  Lord  to  keep  your  life  under  Ilis  holy  guard  for 
many  happy  years,  as  it  is  my  desire. 

Guayana,  December  the  twenty-eighth,  seventeen   hundred 
and  seventy-one. 

Must  Excellent  Sir. — Kiss  the  hand  of  your  fLxeellency,  his 
liunddest  and  most  obedient  servant. 

Don  Manuel  Centurion — [here  is  a  llourish]. 
Most  Excellent  Baililf, 

Fr.  Don  .Julian  ile  Arriaga. 


[Cop}].'] 
Most  Excellent  Sir. 

Dear  Sir:  In  euntinuation  of  the  valuable  project  tiiat  Mis 
Majesty  has  entruste<l  to  me,  in  order  to  penetrate  into  and 
settle  the  extensive  and  unknown  deserts  of  this  new  Prov- 
ince, and  in  order  to  facilitate  the  road  by  land  to  the  Esmer- 
ahla,  a  town  situated  on  the  upj)er  Orinoco,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Casiipiiari,  as  importaid  as  1  have  informed  youi-  Ivxcel- 
lency,  on  the  twenty-Htth  of  last  May,  I  have  since  that  time 
occu[)ied  with  a  detachment  and  stronghold  the  mouth  r)f  the 
Crevato  river,  emptying  into  the  u[iper  ('aura,  /vnd  in  (ji'der 
to  continue  the  reduction  tp  civilized  and  Christian  society 
of  the  multitude  of  savage  Indians  f(nnid  in  those  margins, 
(dispo.sed  likewise  to  receive  the  light  of  the  Gospel,  thai 
having  commenced   to  settle  umler  Spainsh    soldiers,  they  ask 


225 

for  Reverend  Fathers  to  instruct  and  baptize  them.)  I  selected 
from  the  Community  of  Reverend  Franciscan  Observant  ]\Iis- 
siouers  of  (3rinoco  two  Priests,  whom,  with  the  necessar}'  sup- 
phes,  provisions,  and  ecclesiastical  ornaments,  I  have  sent  to 
those  new  establishments.  And  in  order  to  secure  their  sub- 
sistence I  will  open  a  direct  communication  by  the  way  of 
Carolina  to  this  capital,  as  the  Caura  navigation  is  difficult, 
and  the  windings  of  the  Iniquiari  (by  way  of  which  they  have 
gone  this  time),  make  difficult  to  obtain  the  necessary  supplies 
and  commerce  with  those  places.  At  the  same  time  I  have 
decided  to  open  a  straight  road  from  the  mouth  of  the  Erevato 
river  to  the  Esmeralda.  The  explorers,  who  in  compliance 
witli  my  directions  liave  come  by  land  to  this  city,  confirm 
the  reports  given  before  by  laithhil  Caribs,  that  the  sliortest 
wav  from  here  to  the  mouth  of  the  Casiquiari  must  follow  the 
bank  of  the  Erevato. 

For  the  discovery  of  the  famous  Parime  Lake  I  have  sent  at 
once,  by  the  way  of  the  Paragua  and  the  Caura,  Spanish  ex- 
plorers of  courage,  led  by  several  Indians  acquainted  with 
those  of  our  party,  and  I- hope  to  receive  the  reports  of  these 
undertakings  to  make  your  Excellency  individually  acquainted 
with  any  thing  that  may  be  discovered.  I  understand  that 
in  those  islands,  and  on  the  margins  of  that  immense  lake, 
there  are  innumerable  Indians  who,  flying  from  the  Spaniards, 
Portuguese,  French,  and  Hollanders,  are  found  around  that 
country  after  they  retired  from  the  center,  leaving  almost  des- 
ert all  its  circumference. 

I  think  that,  once  occupied  by  the  Spaniards,  one  of  the 
islands  of  the  renowned  lake,  with  a  reasonable  detachment, 
we  will  secure  at  the  same  time  the  advantages  of  depriving 
the  Hollanders  and  their  allied  Caribs  from  continuing  in  their 
trade  in  Poytos  which  they  carry  on  in  this  Province  b}"  way 
of  the  Apanony,  Sipo,  Maserony,  and  many  other  rivers  empty- 
ing into  the  Esquivo,  and  facilitating  the  navigation  of  for- 
eigners to  Parime  and  the  sources  of  the  Orinoco,  Caura,  Para- 
gua, and  other  rivers. 

We  shall  open  the  country  through  the  progress  of  our 
Missions,  before  any  foreigners  take  hold  of  this  region  or  lay 

Vol.  it,  Ven.— 15 


226 

it  wa^tf,  llirouuli  the  constant  removal  of  the  Indians  enslaved^ 
t«»r  tilt'  improvement  of  the  agriculture  of  their  Colonies,  by 
means  of  tlie  cruel  and  infamous  commerce  in  Poytos  with 
the  ("aribs.  A\'c  will  stop  witliiii  their  bounds  the  Esquivo 
Hollanders,  those  of  Bervis  and  Surinam,  the  Frenchmen  from 
(■ayena,and  the  Tortuguese  from  the  Amazon,  keeping  a  con- 
stant lookout  to  embarrass  the  usurpation  which  they  are  always 
contriving  to  extend  on  our  dominions,  until  now  difficult  to 
avoid  ;  and  assuring  the  King  in  the  possession  of  this  precious 
and  extensive  country,  we  will  give,  within  a  short  time  a  val- 
uable Province  with  many  vassals  to  the  Crown  and  laithfiil 
to  our  Catholic  religion. 

We  are  well  disposed,  most  Excellent  Sir,  as  may  be  seen  by 
the  accompanying  copies  of  letters  from  the  Father  Suj)erior.s 
of  these  Missions,  and  we  are  only  wanting  the  necessaiy  sup- 
plies, whicli  I  hope  your  Excellency  will  deign  to  accord  us, 
as  well  as  the  withdrawal  of  the  useless  escorts  of  theMeta  and 
Casanare  rivers,  to  employ  these  eighteen  detachments  on  the 
Parime  and  its  surroundings,  as  there  are  so  many  places  in 
which  I  have  distributed  unavoidably  the  rest  of  the  troop 
under  my  command. 

If  there  are  not  soldiers  enough  in  each  Post  I  have  no 
means  to  relieve  any  of  the  most  overtaxed  detachments. 

W'i-hing  to  give  your  Excellency,  as  I  am  in  duty  bound  to 
do,  an  idea  of  the  geogra|)hy  of  all  that  I  have  l)een  able  to 
find  out  in  connection  with  this  unknown  Province,  according 
to  what  1  have  seen  and  heard  in  the  various  rej)orts  that  I 
have  examined  with  the  greatest  attention  to  discover  the 
truth,  I  have  arranged  the  accompanying  map,  which,  although 
susceptible  of  future  corrections  when  the  country  will  be  fully 
open  and  explored  b}^  the  Spaniards,  I  believe  that  at  present 
it  is  the  chart  most  accurate  that  we  have  of  Guayana,  and  I 
hope  your  Excellency  will  kindly  receive  it  and  excuse  any 
detects  that  may  be  noticed,  as  I  expect  from  the  great  indul- 
gence of  your  Excellency. 

Praying  the  Lord  to  keep  in  His  holy  guard  the  precious 
lite  of  your  Excellency  for  many  happy  years,  as  it  is  my  desire. 

Guayana,  on  the  tliir<l  of  November  of  seventeen  seventy — 


227 

Most  Excellent  Sir — Kiss  the  hand  of  your  Excellency — your 
most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

Manuel  Centurion. 
Most  Excellent  Bailiff, 

Fr.  Don  Pedro  Mesia  de  la  Zerda. 

Postscript. — I  just  learn  from  a  few  Hollanders  who  with 
their  launch  were  seized  by  our  cruisers  on  the  Orinoco,  and 
brought  lately  to  this  capital,  that  the  Portuguese  from  the 
Maraiion  river  have  introduced  themselves  through  the 
Parime  river,  up  to  the  southeastern  shores  of  the  famous  lake 
of  that  name,  and  that  within  four  days'  journey  from  the 
same,  and  at  the  same  river,  they  have  fortified  a  place  and 
built  houses  and  stores  for  the  cacao,  in  which  those  lands 
abound,  to  be  transported  by  small  boats  to  Para.  This  news 
has  caused  me  to  make  inquiries  over  and  over  again,  and  it 
is  confirmed  by  several  persons  who  report  the  same  thing.  I 
make  your  Excellency  acquainted  with  said  report,  so  that, 
as  I  think  the  urgency  ot  the  case  of  our  expedition  to  tlie 
Parime  Lake  may  be  well  understood  and  your  Excellency 
will  kindly  furnish  me  with  the  necessary  means. 

Centurion. 


Another  Letter  from  the  BailiflT. 

The  draft  and  copies  sent  by  your  Honor  accompanying  the 
letter  of  last  November  third,  show  very  clearly  the  state  of 
the  Province  of  Guayana  and  the  progress  of  the  Missions,  as 
well  as  the  situation  of  the  Hollanders,  French,  and  Portuguese 
possessions  surrounding  the  same  and  the  news  lately  received 
of  their  penetration  up  to  the  Parime  Lake,  far  in  the  interior 
of  our  dominions ;  this  boldness  must  be  stopped,  and  your 
Honor  will  see  as  to  the  means  to  be  employed,  without  ex- 
cluding force,  under  the  understanding  that  I  can  not  dis- 
pose of  any  money  and  am  in  need  of  funds,  as  the  principal 
tiling  that  your  Honor  will  bear  in  mind  in  dealing  with  the 
subject.  Li  another  letter  of  this  date  I  have  shown  the  same 
thing. 


228 

Santa  Fe,  March  the  seventh,  seventeen  hundicil  and  seventy 
one. 

Tlie  ]>:iilitr  Vr.  Don  Pedro  Mesia  de  la   Zej;i)A. 

Sefior  Don  .Manuel  Centurion. 


Tlie  foregoing  are  copies  from  the  original  letters  kept  at  the 
Archives  of  the  Commander  General  of  Orinoco  and  Guayana, 
at  the  Secretary's  Office  under  my  charge,  and  I  certify  to  the 
fact. 

Guayana,  Decemher  the  20th  of  1771. 

Fran'cisco  de  Amantegui, 

Secretary  of  IIV'/-. 


Instriictioiis  to  be  <)b.serve<l  by  the  Lieuteiiant  of  Artillery, 
Don  Nicolas  Martinez,  Coiuniander  of  the  detaehnieiit 
sent  to  occupy  El  Dorado  and  the  Parinie  Lake. 

1.  This  officer  will  leave  this  capital,  taking  under  his  orders 
a  detachment  of  troops  consisting  of  one  sergeant,  one  corj)orah 
twelve  soldiers,  one  cosmographer,  and  two  inter})reters.  He  will 
transport  them  in  the  vessels  that  he  may  find  more  suitaljle 
and  expedient,  carrj'ing  the  necessary  ammunition,  arms,  and 
])rovisions  for  the  transfer  and  subsistence  through  the  rivers 
Oiinoco,  Caura,  Cuato,  Parime,  Abararuru,  Aman,  and  Amoine, 
entering  into  the  Parime  lake  and  consecutively,  he  will  estab- 
li.sh  himself  at  El  Dorado,  that  is  reported  to  be  a  brilliant 
mountain  of  gold  color,  called  Acucuamo  and  by  other  names 
Cnrueuripati,  contiguous  to  said  lake,  at  tbe  mouth  of  the 
(hiaricuru  creek,  settled  or  guarded  by  the  tribes  Macussi, 
Arecuna,  and  many  others  of  .savage  Indians  in  the  interior  of 
this  Province. 

2.  On  this  march  the  Commander  Avill  carefully  keep  his 
whole  troop  on  hand  united,  without  j^ermitting  any  of  the 
ve.ssels  to  go  astray,  and  stopping  always  at  good  hours,  in  ad- 
vantageous places,  where  the  vessels  and  people  are  kept  under 


229 

his  eyes  and  orders,  mounting  the  guards  and  necessary  sen- 
tries, so  as  not  to  be  surprised  on  any  event,  taking  all  due 
precautions  dictated  by  prudence  and  military  discipline.  He 
will  carry  a  written  daily  account  of  every  circumstance  con- 
nected with  this  journey  in  detail. 

3.  He  will  be  especially  careful  not  to  allow  any  vessel  of 
gentile  Indians  to  get  ahead  of  his  party,  and  prevent  their 
communication  with  the  Parime  and  El  Dorado  Indians,  for 
fear  that  they  make  them  give  up  that  place  and  run  away 
before  our  expedition  reaches  there  to  pacify  and  reduce  them. 

4.  As  soon  as  said  Commander  reaches  the  point  of  his  desti- 
nation he  will  endeavor  by  every  politic  means,  with  sagacity 
and  kindness  to  befriend  all  those  tribes,  especially  the  jMacusi 
and  Arecuna,  presenting  the  chiefs  of  the  Indians  with  those 
trifles  which  they  esteem,  and  singularly  those  who  show 
themselves  the  friendliest  to  the  Spaniards,  so  as  to  stimulate 
their  voluntary  submission  to  the  domain  of  the  King  our 
Lord,  in  whose  name  he  will  take  official  possession  of  all  tliat 
country  with  those  solemn  formalities  that  the  situation  may 
permit ;  and  administering  to  the  Indians  the  corresponding 
oatli  of  allegiance  in  the  most  adequate  form,  offering  them  in 
the  name  of  the  King,  the  protection  and  support  of  His 
Majesty  to  keep  them  as  loyal  vassals,  his  servants,  and  all 
their  propert}',  and  defend  them  from  their  enemies,  so  that 
they  can  live  in  safety  for  their  persons  and  property,  enjoy ing 
the  other  felicities  of  those  submitted  to  the  just  rule  of  the 
King  our  Lord,  and  consequently  he  will  gradually  instruct 
them,  using  every  possible  mildness,  in  the  mysteries  of  our 
holy  Catholic  faith,  so  as  to  have  them  embrace  it  with  love 
and  adjure  the  errors  of  the  gentiles.  To  this  end  he  will  be 
accompanied  with  a  Reverend  Father  of  the  Franciscan  Mis- 
sion of  this  Province,  if  the  Prelate  is  willing  to  detach  one  to 
join  him  to  this  expedition. 

5.  At  the  Parime  river,  near  the  Cachivo  river,  before  reach- 
ing the  mouth  of  the  Abarauru,  he  will  endeavor  to  establish 
a  lort  on  a  narrow  place  or  point  of  land  advantageously  situ- 
ated, so  as  to  close  the  pass  within  gunshot  from  that  phuiu  to 
our  enemies,  through   said  river.     It  will   be  of  the  greatest 


230 

importance  to  found  in  the  neighlxirliooil  of  snid  fort  a  few 
faithful  Indian  settlements,  for  the  better  subsistence  and  de- 
fence of  the  troop  guarding  that  Post. 

6.  At  the  same  place  of  El  Dorado,  or  the  most  advantageous; 
place  to  be  found  in  tiie  neighborhood,  and  in  order  to  prevent 
the  access  of  the  Caribsand  corsair  Hollanders  and  Portuguese 
to  the  Parime  lake,  a  stronghold  will  be  erected,  with  lodgings 
for  the  Commander  and  all  the  troop,  with  the  artillery,  arma- 
ment, and  ammunition.  Around  the  neighborhood  \\v  will 
endeavor  to  establish  settlemenis  of  faitliful  Indians,  who  may 
help  the  laborers  with  the  necessary  victuals  and  what  may  be 
Avanted  lor  the  estal)lisliment  and  defence  of  the  [Spaniards  on 
that  frontier,  and  on  no  account  whatever  will  he  wage  war,  or 
allow  any  hostilities  against  the  Indians,  in  order  to  reduce 
them,  employing  the  mildest  and  most  attractive  means.  ( )nly 
in  case  of  natural  defence,  shall  he  ever  have  to  repel  them, 
as  far  as  necessary  to  refrain  others,  but  always  trying  our 
policy  of  subduing  them  by  love. 

7.  As  soon  as  he  has  taken  possession  of  that  territory,  he 
will  explore  it  with  the  greatest  care  and  attention  so  as  to  see 
everything  that  is  useful,  t'Speeially  the  famous  mountain  El 
Dorado,  and  other  mineral  and  special  ])rodu(*ts  found  in  that 
neighijorhood.  Of  all  that  he  should  discover  he  will  give 
]»rompt,  circumstantial,  and  special  re[)orts,  in  reference  to 
everything,  and  his  diary  of  the  journey,  to  the  Commander 
General,  so  as  to  render  an  account  of  the  same  tollis  Majesty, 
as  well  as  the  geographical  description  of  the  placets,  with 
maps  that  they  will  make  in  that  territory,  containing  the 
rivers,  lakes,  mountains,  original  inhabitants,  and  other  notes 
leading  to  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  situation  of  that  country, 
so  vast  and  unknown. 

S.  And  if  he  finds  any  Euro})ean  strangers  esta])lished  in 
those  .surroundings,  outside  of  the  Colonies  permitted  to  them — 
to  the  Portuguese  on  the  Amazon  river,  the  Frenchmen  on 
the  Cayena  coast  and  the  Hollanders  on  the  Surinam  coast, 
Bervis  and  Esquivo  on  the  Atlantic  Ocean  coast — he  will  inti- 
mate to  them,  in  the  name  of  the  King  our  Lord,  the  order  to 
(juit  immediately  and  leave  those  places  of  his  Poyal  domain; 


231 

and  if,  after  the  first  polite  remonstrances,  they  do  not  with- 
draw to  their  old  and  tolerated  establishments,  leaving  free 
from  usurpation  what  they  hold,  they  will  be  compelled  by 
force  of  arms  and  vigor,  as  f-dv  as  circumstances  will  allow  the 
Commander  of  this  expedition. 

9.  On  the  stranding  place  of  the  Mairabapure,  between 
Caura  and  Cuato,  an  Indian  settlement  must  be  established, 
(even  though  a  small  one),  to  facilitate  the  pass  of  the  vessels 
of  one  to  the  other  river,  and  even  to  avoid  this  work  and  de- 
lay, bringing  the  boats  from  one  to  another  part,  so  as  to  expe- 
dite the  transfer  of  the  boats  and  stores  from  one  to  another 
side  and  secure  the  speediest  communication  of  the  new  estal)- 
lishment  of  Parime  with  those  of  Caura  and  Orinoco.  With 
this  view  he  will  endeavor  to  settle  the  Guanavis  or  another 
immediate  tribe  at  the  place  where  the  house  of  the  Caumaiva 
Indian  is  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  Caura,  above  the  mouth 
of  the  Erevato.  Another  settlement  on  the  stranding  place  of 
the  Mairabapure. 

10.  If  the  adventurers  or  parties,  willing  to  follow  this  expe- 
dition as  outsiders,  should  undertake  to  make  discoveries  at 
their  own  expense,  and  explore  mines  or  other  useful  enter- 
prises in  those  surroundings,  the  Commander  will  allow  them 
to  do  so,  according  to  the  laws  of  these  Kingdoms,  after  hav- 
ing verified  the  two  chief  establishments  of  the  Parime  river 
and  the  lake  of  that  name,  under  condition  of  securing  from 
the  profits  the  part  belonging  to  the  King,  as  lawful  dues,  and 
entering  into  a  regular  register  what  they  bring  to  this  capital 
under  a  true  permit  and  the  necessary  certificates  from  the 
Commander. 

11.  After  having  ascertained  the  substance  of  the  promises 
made  to  me  by  the  Indian  Captain,  Paranacari,  of  the  Purucota 
tribe,  native  of  the  Parime  river,  to  lead  this  expedition  faith- 
fully until  the  Spaniards  are  placed  in  possession  of  the  great 
Lake  of  this  name,  the  famous  El  Dorado  and  its  surroundings, 
and  to  reduce  and  attract  to  our  side  the  chiefs  and  numerous 
tribes  of  Indians  in  that  neighborhood,  the  Commander  of  the 
expedition  will  deliver  to  him  the  title  that  I  have  granted 
him,  as  Lieutenant  Governor  General  and  Indian  Chief  of  all 


the  Indian  settlements  to  be  found  through  his  assistance  on 
the  Parime  river  and  its  sources.  With  due  solemnity  he  will 
make  him  known  and  recognized  as  such,  so  as  to  make  this 
demonstration  of  the  reward  to  his  merit  help  to  stimulate 
the  other  Indians  in  procuring  every  body  to  do  tiie  same  for 
the  benefit  and  service  of  the  King  our  Lord. 

12.  If  l)y  an  unforeseen  accident  the  misfortune  of  the  failure 
of  tiiis  expedition  should  happen  or  suspend  its  course,  the 
( 'onnnander  will  be  careful  not  to  separate  from  him  said 
Indian,  Paranacari,  as  it  is  very  important  not  to  allow  such 
a  practieal  man  of  his  circumstances  to  get  out  of  our  hands. 
And  that  until  ins  promises  have  been  redeemed  and  our  estal)- 
lisliments  on  the  Parima  lake  secured,  his  wives  and  children 
will  be  maintained  at  Saint  Louis  of  the  Erevato,  where  they 
are  kept  to-day  with  the  rest  of  tliis  tribe,  recommended  to  the 
Commander  of  that  Post. 

13.  And,  fi.nnlly,  in  everything  not  foreseen  in  this  instruc- 
tion the  Commander  will  act,  according  to  its  spirit,  witli  tlie 
{)rudence,  amiability,  and  good  conduct  in  keeping  with  his 
honor,  love,  and  zeal  for  the  Royal  service,  in  order  to  see  the 
imjiortant  possessions  of  the  Parime  and  El  Dorado  duly  se- 
cured and  the  speediest  reduction  of  all  those  Indians.  To  that 
end  I  grant  him  and  delegate  my  powders,  so  that  at  that  great 
distance  and  slow  recourse  to  our  capital  he  may  act  and 
deliberate  in  every  circumstance  of  this  expedition,  according 
to  the  Royal  law  of  this  Kingdom,  and  precise  subordination 
and  dependence  from  this  General  Command. 

To  that  end  I  grant  him  the  [)resent  powers  at  Guayana  on 
tlie  20th  of  September,  1771. 

Don  Manuel  Centurion  [here  is  a  flourish]. 


I  received  a  copy  of  this  instruction  to  be  carried  out  as 
directed. 

Dated  as  above. 

Nicolas  Martinez  [here  is  a  flourish]. 


9^i 


The  foregoing  is  a  copy  of  the  original  text  existing  in  the 
General  Archives  of  the  Indies  in  Stand  131 — Case  2 — Docket 
1 8.     Seville,  March  the  27th,  1891. 

The  Chief  of  Archives. 

Carlos  Jimenez  Placer. 

[seal.] — General  Archives  of  the  Indies. 


The  undersigned,  Consul  General  of  Venezuela  in  Spain, 
certifies  to  the  authenticity  of  the  signature  of  Don  Carlos 
Jimenez  Placer,  Chief  of  the  General  Archives  of  the  Indies. 

Madrid,  April  11th,  1891. 

P.  FOETOULT  HURTADO. 


The  undersigned,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  of  the  United 
States  of  Venezuela,  certifies  to  the  authenticity  of  the  signa- 
ture of  Seiior  Pedro  Fortoult  Plurtado,  Consul  General  of 
Venezuela  in  Spain  at  the  preceding  date. 

Caracas,  March  6th,  189(3. 

P.  Ezequiel  Ro.jas. 

[seal.] — Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs. 


•2M 
No.  XIV. 

Stand  1. til. —Case  2.— Docket  18. 

(iKNKltAL     AbCHIVES    OF    THE    I.NDIES  (SEVILLE. 


i7i;5. 


Letter  N«>.  4<>  Iruin  llu'  ('<»imuander  of  Cruayaiia,  Uoii 
3Iami(l  <'«'iitiiri<Mi,  to  the  Bailitf  Fr.  I>oii  Julian  de  Ar- 
ria^a,  aini>Iil.viiij;  the  report  ol"  l>ee.  :51st,  1  770,  about 
the  poimlation  of  that  I'roviuce,  as  directed  by  the 
Royal  (  (dole  of  the  ti  +  th  of  July,  of  1  77'i,  ai-eoinpauy- 
iiii:  various  doeunu-nls. 


GuAYANA,  November  lltli,  177o. 


177o.— No.  40— Most  Excellent  Sir— 

Mv  Dkak  Sii;  :  IJy  tlie  Royal  eedule  of  the  24tli  ol'  July, 
1772,  just  ari'ived.  I  ;mi  directed  that  "  without  delay,  and  ex- 
tensively, clearly,  and  distinctly,  as  the  importance  of  the 
su1)ject  demands,  to  make  a  delaileil  I'eport  of  all  the  ]»articu- 
lars  that  the  Council  has  missed  on  the  map  and  exi)lanation 
of  the  state  and  progress  of  the  population  of  this  Province, 
sent  l)y  me,  under  date  of  the  olst  of  December,  1770,  through 
Don  .Jose})!!  Solano,  former  Governor  of  Caracas,  and  to  state 
the  names  of  the  lleverend  Fathers  to  whom  the  settlements 
under  the  Jesuits  were  delivered,  and  in  what  form  ;  the  dis- 
tribution of  land,  cattle,  and  utensils,  that  have  been  made 
and  api)lied  in  faVor  of  the  neighbors;  under  what  rules,  by 
whom,  and  how  have  been  founded  the  seven  Spanish  and 
mixed  Sjtainsli  settlements  contained,  as  well  as  those  intended 
to  be  settled  bv  J)on  l-'rancisco  Villasana   at  the  Carolina  vil- 


235 

lago,  on  the  banks  of  the  Arov  river;  and  finally  tlie  situation 
and  distance  between  the  settlements  and  Missions,  with  every 
other  particular  that  he  may  find  worthy  of  the  Royal  notice, 
sending  directly  to  the  Council,  in  the  way  of  reserve,  the 
above-mentioned  report,  as  well  as  any  other  to  be  followed,  on 
the  State  and  progress  of  this  new  Province.  And  at  the  same 
time  to  render  an  account  to  the  Viceroy  of  everything  worth 
the  attention  of  his  Excellency,  asking  him  for  the  necessary 
assistance  in  money  and  men  and  everything  else  conducive 
to  the  advancement  and  prosperit}^  of  this  Province,  without 
allowing  these  communications  and  subordinations  to  the 
Viceroy  to  impede  or  delay  the  reports  that,  as  I  have  in- 
sinuated, must  be  forwarded  directly  to  the  Court." 

And  in  compliance  with  the  directions  of  the  above  Royal 
cednle  I  send  your  Excellency  a  copy  of  the  report  that  I  have 
sent  to  the  Council,  with  the  corresponding  justification  upon 
ever}'^  particular.  In  doing  so  I  have  the  pleasure  to  show  to 
your  Excellency,  not  only  that  I  have  succeeded  in  giving  this 
Province  the  consistence  and  considerable  increase  of  popula- 
tion of  forty-three  Spanish  and  Indian  settlements,  containing 
over  two  hundred  families  of  the  former,  brought  from  the 
neighboring  Provinces,  and  about  eight  thousand  of  the  latter, 
brought  from  the  forests  and  rescued  from  idolatry  to  civilized 
and  Christian  society,  besides  the  construction  of  over  seven 
hundred  houses,  about  three  thousand  farms,  and  the  breed- 
ing of  over  one  hundred  thousand  head  of  cattle  and  horses, 
but  likewise  I  have  contributed,  for  that  purpo.se,  with  the 
amount  of  over  seven  thousand  dollars,  out  of  fees  and  estab- 
lished dues,  on  account  of  my  office,  tliat  I  might  have  retained 
since  my  assumption  of  this  general  command,  and  that  I  have 
waived  voluntarily  in  +he  service  of  the  King  and  the  popu- 
lation of  this  Province,  as  is  shown  by  authenticated  docu- 
ments accompanying  said  report,  and  particularly  the  two 
■certificates,  Nos.  3  and  8,  from  the  Collector  of  Revenues  and 
the  Royal  Officer  of  this  city. 

This  pecuniary  service  I  liave  rendered,  out  of  my  own  free 
will,  to  overcome  difficulties  and  miseries  which  made  my 
wishes  impossible,  de[)riving  me  of  the  glory  of  [)0pulating 


2:5(3 

these  deserts,  so  as  to  present  to  the  King  a  Province'  wliicli, 
on  account  of  its  situation  and  circumstances,  may  become 
most  useful  to  tlie  .State.  I  did  not  intend  to  mention  to  the 
Kin*;'  or  your  I'lxcflk'ncy  tlic  fact,  until  my  recall  from  this 
( Jovi'rnment,  because  up  to  that  time  1  wished  to  continue  bear- 
ing tins  light  sacrifice  of  my  private  interest,  as  an  evidence  of 
my  love  and  zeal  for  the  Royal  service;  but  as  I  am  now 
directed  by  His  Majesty  to  state  under  what  lule,  1)y  whom, 
and  how  have  so  many  settlements  been  founded,  I  am  com- 
pelled to  make  it  known  and  mention  to  your  Excellency  that 
1  have  several  chiMren,  and  among  them  two  boys,  liafael 
and  Louis,  serving  as  Cadets  in  the  regular  troo{i,  for  the 
guard  of  this  Province  and  who,  as  a  reward  for  these  merits, 
hope  from  (he  kindness  of  the  King  to  be  honored  and  favored 
with  their  connnissions  as  Captains  of  Infantry  of  the  Army, 
craving  for  the  help  and  protection  of  your  Excellency,  and 
likewise  to  be  kept  in  the  service,  and  for  their  instruction  at 
my  side,  until  His  Majesty  may  think  fit  to  recall  me  and  con- 
tinue the  Royal  service  in  Spain,  a  favor  that  I  expect  from 
your  kindness. 

Praying  the  Lord  to  kee})  the  precious  life  of  your  Excel- 
lency in  His  holy  guard  for  many  haj^py  years,  as  it  is  'ny 
desire  and  want. 

(niayana,  November  11th,  1773. — Most  Excellent  Sir. — Kiss 
the  hand  of  your  P^xccllcncy,  his  most  obedient  humble  ser- 
vant, 

Don   Manuel  Ckxtukiox — [liere  is  a  flourish]. 
Most  Excellent  BailiflP, 

Fr.  Don  Julian  de  Arriaua. 


[Cop!/.] 
Most  Povverlul  Sir — 

Sir  :  By  the  Royal  cedule  of  the  24th  of  July  of  last  year, 
just  arrived,  your  Highness  directs  me  that  without  loss  of 
time  to  report  all  the  particulars  missed  by  the  Council  in  the 
last  map,  and  explain  the  condition  of  the  population  of  his 
Province,  which    I   sent   under  date  of  the  31st  of  Decer,.  >er, 


237 

1770,  through  Don  Josef  Solano,  Governor  of  Caracas,  and  to 
be  particularly  careful  to  inform  the  Viceroy  of  Santa  Fe  of 
whatever  I  may  consider  worthy  of  his  notice  and  attention, 
asking  from  him  the  assistance  in  money  and  people,  and 
everything  else  conducive  to  the  advancement  and  prosperity 
of  this  new  Province,  without  allowing  this  communication 
and  subordination  to  the  Viceroy  to  impede  nor  retard  the 
report  that  I  must  send  directl}^,  as  Commander,  by  way  of 
reserve  to  the  Council. 

And  in  compliance  with  the  orders  of  His  Highness  I  say 
that  this  Province  of  Guayana  is  the  most  eastern  part  of  the 
dominions  of  the  King  in  meridianal  America,  on  the  northern 
coast,  and  that  the  boundaries  are,  on  the  north,  the  lower 
Orinoco  river,  the  meridianal  boundary  of  the  Provinces  of 
Cumana  and  Caracas ;  on  the  east,  the  Atlantic  Ocean  ;  on  the 
south,  the  great  Amazon  river ;  and  on  the  west  the  Rio  Negro 
and  the  Casiquiari  creek  and  upper  Orinoco ;  the  boundary  of 
the  eastern  and  unknown  part  of  the  Kingdom  of  Santa  Fe. 

In  the  circumference  and  precinct  of  the  vast  continent  of 
this  Province,  the  Frenchmen  and  Hollanders  occupy  all  the 
seacoast  with  their  colonies ;  the  former  in  Cayena,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Amazon  river,  and  the  latter  in  Surinam,  Bervis, 
and  Esquivo,  fifty-five  or  seventy  leagues  Irom  the  large  mouth 
of  Orinoco. 

On  the  margin  of  the  Amazon  river  and  on  those  of  Rio  Negro 
up  to  San  Joseph  of  the  Marivitanas  (thirty-six  leagues  below 
the  mouth  of  Casiquiari  and  thirty-two  from  our  settlements 
and  strongholds  of  San  Carlos  and  San  Felipe),  the  Portuguese 
are  established,  and  our  effective  possessions  are  reduced  to 
one  part  of  Rio  Negro,  all  the  Casiquiari,  the  upper  and 
lower  Orinoco,  and  the  new  establishments  that  we  are  found- 
ing in  the  interior  of  the  country  b}'  the  rivers  Caroni,  Para- 
gua,  Aroy,  Caura,  Erevato,  Padamo,  Ventuari,  and  others, 
o-oinef  from  the  unknown  centers  of  Guavana  to  Orinoco.  This 
river  is  divided  in  branches,  forty-one  leagues  before  reaching 
the  sea,  and  receives  its  water  through  numberless  mouths,  in 
th  pace  of  seA'enty  leagues  of  clusters  of  mangroves,  all  flooded 
fr(   .1  the  point  of  Barima  to  Guarapiche. 


ooo 
OOO 

Till'  cliit'l  and  most  eastern  of  all  is  the  one  called  large- 
mouth  or  mouth  of  Xavios.  This  one  is  eighteen  miles 
broad  and  lias  a  channul  of  two  leagues,  in  the  middle  of  the 
Barrack,  with  four  fathoms  of  water  down  to  the  sea  at  high 
water;  the  bottom  is  muddy,  the  coast  low,  and  the  cluster  of 
mangroves  are  all  flooded ;  the  sea  is  very  quiet,  especially  in 
the  months  of  February  up  to  October  ;  the  tides  are  livel)^,  of 
about  one  fathom  deep  of  salt  water,  that  stop  and  salt  the 
waters  of  the  Orinoco  as  far  above  as  seventeen  leagues  from 
the  mouth.  Tiu'  other  mouths  only  permit  the  entrance 
of  launches  and  piraguas,  forming  a  labyi'intli  of  inundated 
i.slands  and  creeks,  emptying  into  the  Triste  Gulf,  opposite  the 
island  of  Trinidad  ;  and  among  them,  tho.se  better  known  and 
praetical)le  are  the  ^Nlanamo,  Macaredo,  and  Pedernales. 

Through  the  large  mouth,  or  the  mouth  of  Xavios,  vessels 
can  enter  and  navigate  with  fair  weather  in  the  Orinoco  river 
and  upwards,  without  any  hinderance,  and  at  all  times  frigates 
of  forty-four  guns  can  go  up  to  the  mouth  of  Caroni  or  the 
Fajardo  Island  in  the  months  from  May  to  October,  when  the 
river  is  full ;  and  they  can  go  farther  up,  but  slowly,  on  account 
of  the  strong  current  and  light  winds  of  the  season,  to 
Angostura,  where  the  cai)ital  city  of  the  Province  is  situated 
at  present,  eighty-three  leagues  distance  from  the  sea. 

From  Caroni  to  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco  there  is  a  distance 
of  fifty-eight  leagues  without  any  population  on  either  side  of 
the  river  (indeed  it  is  a  pity  to  have  it  abandoned  as  it  is  the 
best  soil  in  the  world  for  agriculture  and  commerce;  though 
there  is  now  and  then  n  sickly  place,  being  amongst  them  the 
old  city  of  Guayana,  nine  leagues  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Caroni,  and  eight  above  the  place  where  the  Orinoco  is  divided 
into  several  l)ranches,  as  it  has  been  stated.) 

On  that  sickly  place,  on  the  northerly  part  of  this  Province, 
and  (  n  the  .south  side  of  this  river,  there  is  a  rock  upon  which 
the  Castle  of  San  Francisco  de  Asis  and  a  battery  in  trapezoid 
shapi'  without  fosse  or  palisade  are  built.  It  is  forty  yards  in 
length,  twenty  in  breadth,  with  ten  iron  guns  and  their  cor- 
responding ammunition.  In  the  middle,  on  the  western  side, 
the  mountain  Padrastro  ri.ses  in  a  commanding  position  at  a 


239 

gunshot  from  said  Castle  of  San  Francisco,  having  on  its  to[> 
a  small  fort  with  a  palisade  in  the  shape  of  a  star,  without 
fosse;  it  is  thirty-seven  yards  in  length,  twenty-six  in  breadth, 
with  nine  iron  guns,  mounted  and  supplied  with  ammunition. 

For  both  Posts  there  is  a  garrison  of  one  captain  commander, 
one  subaltern  otlicer,  and  twenty-five  men  of  infantry,  with  a 
corporal  and  six  artillerymen;  one  armed  launch  at  the  foot 
of  the  Castle,  with  one  cannon  and  twelve  small  pieces  served 
by  sixteen  pioneers. 

As  the  general  breadth  of  the  Orinoco,  at  this  part  of  the 
river,  is  about  eighteen  hundred  yards,  beyond  the  reach  of 
a  cannon,  point  blank  from  these  two  batteries,  the  old 
Spaniards  found  necessary  the  erection  of  batteries  on  the  op- 
posite side,  so  as  to  prevent  the  passage  of  vessels  by  means  of 
cross  fires.  For  that  purpose  they  built,  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Limones  creek,  an  oval  tower  of  twenty-three  yards  in 
diameter,  with  good  materials  ;  but  unfortunately  it  fell  before 
it  was  finished,  on  account  of  the  weight  and  the  weakness  of 
the  soil  in  which  it  was  built,  without  the  precaution  of 
strengthening  the  foundations  so  as  to  consolidate  the  muddv 
and  sandy  soil.  Tliis  work  has  been  entirel}^  abandoned  for 
the  above  reason,  and  therefore  the  pass  is  open  on  that  side 
to  the  vessels  of  the  smugglers  and  enemies  of  the  Crown,  that 
can  navigate  with  ten  fathoms  of  water  and  fair  winds,  witli- 
out  any  risk  from  the  artillery  of  the  batteries  of  San  Fran- 
cisco and  the  Padrastro  on  the  opposite  side,  out  of  their  reacli, 
save  a  casual  shot  by  elevation. 

In  order  to  avoid  these  difficulties  and  the  sickly  condition 
of  the  place,  and  to  have  all  the  forts  united  in  an  advanta- 
geous place,  a  true  key  to  close  the  Orinoco,  the  well-known 
navigation  of  which  easily  discovers  to  an  enemy  the  Provinces 
of  Cumana,  Caracas  and  Barinas,  and  opens  the  doors  to  the 
kingdom  of  Santa  Fe,  His  Majesty  desires,  as  shown  by  the 
Royal  order  of  the  3d  of  December,  1770,  to  establish  the 
same  (fortress)  formally  on  the  hill  of  the  Island  of  Fajardo, 
being  eight  leagues  above  Padrastro,  and  half  a  league  below 
the  mouth  of  the  Caroni  river,  dividing  the  Orinoco  into  two 
channels  almost  equal,  the  broadest  seven  hundred  yards  in. 


240 

Hoii«l  tiiiirs.  Its  >uininit  is  tit  to  lioM  a  tort  (.Mjual  to  the  one 
l>rojt'ctO(l  for  the  Padrastro  mountain,  and  the  situation  more 
adequate  for  cdosing  the  river  and  covering  the  Province,  be- 
cause from  that  controlling  position  muskets  will  reach,  Avhere 
cannons  will  not  in  the  other  place,  and  having  no  popula- 
tion wh;itever  below  the  Caroni  near  the  Orinoco,  everything 
is  kept  under  the  protection  of  this  fortification,  for  although 
there  are  a  few  settlements  towards  the  east  inland,  tliey  are 
far  from  the  river  and  protected  by  the  ridge  of  mountains  be- 
tween them  and  the  Orinoco;  said  obstacle,  favored  Ijv  the 
desert  above-mentioned,  opposes  any  evil  intent  fVoni  the 
enemy  against  them,  and  gives  sufficient  time  to  prevent  it  in 
every  case. 

The  Fajardo  fortification  may  be  sup})lied  with  more  facility 
than  that  of  Padrastro ;  and  the  people  convoked  at  Angos- 
tura by  the  Commander  General  for  that  purpose,  find  the  full 
protection  of  the  Caroni  river  against  an  enemy,  trying  from 
land  to  prevent  a  junction.  Tt  is  likewise  of  the  greatest  con- 
venience to  this  city. 

As  this  country,  from  the  last  centui-y,  has  been  receiving 
population  and  requiresthe  reduction  of  the  Indians,  the  three 
Missions,  one  under  the  Catalan  Capuchin  Fathers  from  the 
Island  of  Trinidad,  another  under  the  Franciscan  Fathers 
tVoui  Pii'itu,and  tlie  third  under  the  Jesuits  of  Santa  Fe,  with 
the  exception  of  the  first  were  inactive,  until  the  year  1732, 
when  the  distribution  amongst  them  of  this  vast  territory, 
even  before  it  was  known  or  explored,  excej^t  the  banks  of  the 
lower  Orinoco,  was  made  in  the  following  form  : 

The  Catalan  Cajjuchins,  situated  until  then  around  the 
city  of  Guayana,  took  charge  of  the  eighty-three  leagues 
of  territory  between  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco  and  Angostura, 
and  thence  drawing  a  line  up  to  the  Maraiion  or  Amazon 
rivers.  The  Franciscan  Observant  Fathers  took  tlie  one  hun- 
<lred  leagues  from  the  Angostura  to  the  nioutli  of  the  Cu- 
chivero  river,  with  their  corresi)onding  land  between  them  and 
the  Amazon  river  ;  and  the  re.st,  to  tiie  sources  of  the  Orinoco 
(then  unknown),  was  taken  in  charge  l)y  the  Jesuits,  but  as 
it  was  discovered  afterwards  that  the  upper  Orinoco,  Rio  Negro, 


241 

and  Casiquiari  are  in  reciprocal  communication,  that  territory 
was  found  to  be  too  extensive  for  only  one  Mission,  and  leav- 
ing to  the  Jesuits  the  one  hundred  leagues  which  they  had 
assigned  as  far  as  the  rapids  of  the  Ature  and  Maipure,  and 
dividing  this  river  into  upper  and  lower  Orinoco,  His  Majesty 
sent  the  Andalusian  Capuchins  to  attend  to  the  reduction  and 
conversion  of  the  Indians  of  the  upper  Orinoco  and  Rio  Negro, 
and  afterwards  they  took,  likewise,  provisional  charge  of  cat- 
echising the  settlements  left  by  the  Jesuits  of  Orinoco,  and 
everything  was  afterwards  abandoned,  as  I  stated  to  your 
Highness  on  tiie  17th  of  September,  1771,  by  means  of  your 
Secretary,  Don  Pedro  Garcia  Mayoral. 

Out  of  that  community  only  two  Reverend  Fathers  are  left, 
Fr.  Josef  Antonio  Xeres  and  Fr.  Miguel  de  Nerja,  who,  after 
the  general  stampede  of  their  brothers  in  Christ  and  the  death 
of  the  Prefect,  Fr.  Andres  de  Cadiz,  were  taken  ill  and 
left  for  this  city,  where  they  are  serving  as  pastors  of  the  Ma- 
ruanta  and  Borbon  Parishes.  For  that  reason  I  keep  a  Rev- 
erend Father  of  the  Franciscan  Mission  constantly  navigating 
on  the  Orinoco,  Casiquiari,  and  Rio  Negro  attending,  as  far  as 
possible,  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  settlements  abandoned 
by  the  Andalusian  Capuchins  in  both  territories,  while  j^our 
Highness  fills,  as  I  have  requested,  the  Mission  for  the  upper 
Orinoco  and  Rio  Negro. 

The  principal  board  of  applications  for  the  houses,  colleges, 
and  missions  of  the  Company  estabHshed  at  Caracas  sent  the 
Franciscan  Conventual  Fathers  from  that  Province  asked  bv 
me  on  the  27th  of  August,  1771.  Those  are  the  best  Mission- 
ers  that  we  have  had  in  the  settlements  of  the  Jesuits  after  the 
latter's  expulsion,  and  who  may  replace  the  Fathers  who  die 
or  who  are  taken  sick  in  that  unhealthy  territory. 

I  have  requested  several  times  the  Diocesan  Prelate  in  charge 
of  that  church,  after  the  delivery  which  I  made  of  it  to  him,  in 
compliance  with  the  orders  and  instructions  of  his  Excellenev 
the  Count  of  Aranda,to  make  the  appointments  of  pastors,  and 
he  has  constantly  replied  that  he  has  not  anybody. 

Abandoned,  as  I  have  said  that  this  Province  was,  from  the 
last  century,  to   the  discretion  of  the  Father  Missioners,  sick- 

V(jL.    II,  Vex. — 16 


242 

ness,  want  of  commerce  ami  of  i;"ovi'niiiii'iit  wnv  di'stroying 
the  city  (tf  .Santo  Thome  de  hi  Iniayaiia,  the  only  Sinuiish  set- 
tlcMncMt  found  in  ail  this  vast  continent,  and  tlie  Orinoco 
almost  deserted,  or  more  [n-operly  controlled  by  the  harharoiis 
('aribs,  when  in  the  year  1755  the  lioyal  expe<lition  of  i)ound- 
aries  arrived,  commanded  by  the  Chief  of  S(iuadrons,  Don 
Josef  <!•'  iturria^a.  who  subjected  the  [>rou  I  Indians,  reduced 
and  delivered  many  of  tlu'in  to  the  Missioners,  tounded  at  his 
expense  and  of  the  lioyal  Treasury  tiie  two  Spanish  settle- 
ments called  Ciudad  Real  (Royal  City)  and  Real  Corona  (Royal 
Crown)  at  the  lower  Orinoco,  and  penclrattMl  to  the  upper 
OrinocH)  and  Casiquiari,  three  hundred  leagues,  all  a  desert  as 
far  as  Rio  Negro,  which  he  occupied  with  a  detachment  of 
troops  and  erected  a  stronghold  on  the  Portuguese  frontier,  in 
order  to  better  stop  the  progress  of  the  conquests  of  that  nation. 

lie  reduced  to  the  control  of  the  King  and  In'ought  to  our 
holy  religion  the  Indian  tribes  eontroUing  that  eonntry  and 
who  had  not  oidy  resisted  with  extraordinary  bravery  and 
persistence  the  entry  of  the  Spaniards  in  the  upi^er  Orinoco. 
but  had  destroyed  likewise,  tlirough  a  constant  ami  cruel 
war,  the  other  natives.  He  founded  there  tliree  settlements, 
San  Jo.se f  de  Maipures,  at  the  entry  of  the  upper  Orinoco,  and 
San  Carlos  and  San  Felipe  in  Rio  Negro ;  and  for  their  im- 
provement and  the  establislimeiit  of  other  settlements  and 
cities  .that  he  thought  necessary  for  the  security  and  preserva- 
tion of  tliese  dominions,  the  King  made  him  Commander 
General  of  all  the  new  settlements  of  the  Orinoco,  when  by 
order  of  llis  Majest}'  the  Commissioners  of  the  l)oundarv  ex- 
l)edition  were  recalled  to  Spain  in  the  year  ITbl. 

At  the  representation  of  Don  Josef  de  Itnrriaga,  or  rather 
on  account  of  the  report  of  Don  Josef  Solano,  the  third  Com- 
missioner, who  had  been  sent  with  that  expedition,  the  King- 
decided  to  set  up  under  another  footing  the  Governor  of  this 
Province  (until  then  subject  to  the  Governor  of  Cumana)  and 
to  transfer  the  city  of  Guayana  to  the  Angostura  of  Orinoco. 

To  attain  that  end,  His  Majesty  ai)|)ointed,  as  Commander 
]>rt>  k'liiporc  ol'  this  RroN-inee,  ('(done!  Don  Joaehin  Moreno  de 
Mendoza.  and   commis.si(_)ned   him   bv   the  R  )val   order  of  in- 


243 

striictions  of  the  5th  of  June  of  17G2,  independently  from 
Itarriaga  and  subordinated  to  the  Viceroy  of  Santa  Fe,  as  shown 
by  the  accompanying  copy  No.  1.  In  the  year  1764  Moreno 
took  possession  of  this  command,  and  in  1766  I  came  to  relieve 
him,  and  to  serve  on  the  same  terms  that  he  did,  with  the  only 
difference  of  being  then  under  the  orde.rs  and  direction  of  Don 
Josef  Solano,  Governor  of  Caracas. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  following  year  of  1767,  Don  Josef  de 
Iturriaga  withdrew  on  account  of  sickness  to  the  Island  of 
Marguerita,  leaving  me  in  charge  of  the  General  command  of 
the  settlement  of  the  Orinoco,  with  the  same  power  granted  to 
him  by  the  King,  as  it  is  shown  by  the  appointment  or  title  of 
my  commission,  signed  b}^  him  on  the  28th  of  January, 
1767,  confirmed  by  the  Royal  ceduleof  the  5th  of  May  of  1768 
(Annex  No.  2).  Consequently,  I  tried  to  be  posted  in  regard 
to  the  state  and  circumstances  appertaining  to  my  jurisdiction, 
lor  the  discharge  of  my  duties  and  to  satisfy  the  Royal  trust  of 
my  superiors. 

I  visited  all  the  settlements  of  each  Province,  except  three  of 
the  upper  Orinoco  and  Rio  Negro,  beginning  with  the  territory 
of  the  Catalan  Capuchin  Mission,  the  oldest,  and  established  in 
the  last  century,  and  I  found  that  all  the  population  and  con- 
sistence of  the  same  was  reduced  to  eighteen  Indian  settle- 
ments, with  five  thousand  two  hundred  and  seventy-three 
souls,  the  Spanish  village  at  San  Antonio  de  Upata,  with  one 
hundred  and  thirty-seven  persons  of  all  sexes  and  ages  ;  a 
cattle  estate  of  over  tliirty  thousand  head  of  cattle,  besides  the 
breeding  of  horses  and  mares  administered  and  possessed  b}' 
the  founders,  the  Catalan  Capuchin  Fathers  in  their  territory, 
from  the  banks  of  the  Orinoco  thirty  leagues  inland  to  tiie  east 
of  the  Caroni  river.  The  Indians  were  mild,  the  climate 
healthy,  and  the  soil  fit  for  farming  and  breeding  purposes, 
advantageously  situated  for  population  and  commerce,  but, 
unfortunately,  all  this  property  was  in  dead  hands  (manos 
muertas),  forbidden  to  both  natives  and  Spaniards,  both  miser- 
able on  that  account. 

Twenty-five  leagues  above  the  mouth  of  the  Caroni  river  I 
found  this  new  city  of  Gua3^ana  or  la  Angostura  (the  narrow- 


244 

est  part  of  the  river)  of  Orinoco,  inhabiteil  by  livr  liumlred 
and  tifty-five  poor  persons,  just  arrived,  dwelling  in  straw- 
routed  huts,  witliout  possessing  yet  any  products,  farms,  cattle, 
boats,  or  any  otluT  means  of  subsistence,  and  under  the  dis- 
advantage of  having  no  other  settlements  around  or  any  help 
within  twenty  leagues'  distance.  But  the  site  is  healthy  and 
adequate  for  1)oth  land  and  water  commerce. 

In  the  territory  to  be  occupied  by  the  Franci.scan  Mission 
from  Pirutu  there  were  only  two  Reverend  Fathers,  wlio  iiad 
founded  two  settlements  Avith  Caribs,  Platanar  and  Gua/.-d- 
paro,  with  two  hundred  and  seventy-eight  souls,  near  the  city 
of  Real  Corona,  distant  from  Guayana  thirty-five  leagues,  and 
composed  of  a  hundred  and  five  Spanish  persons  very  poor. 
Ciudad  Real,  which  is  likewise  in  said  territory,  sixty  leagues 
farther  up  on  the  creak  of  Uyapi,  near  the  Orinoco,  with  four 
hur.dred  and  fifty-eight  Spaniards,  not  so  poorly  situated  ;  and 
at  a  distance  of  twelve  leagues,  on  the  eastern  margin  of  the 
Cuchivero,  there  is  a  village  with  a  hundred  and  twenty-seven 
fugitive  Indian  Cafres  from  the  Jesuit  Mission,  aggregated  to 
that  city  by  Royal  order.  This  territory  is  all  healthy  but 
not  so  fertile  and  profitable,  nor  having  as  many  Indians  a.s 
that  of  the  Catalan  Capuchins. 

From  Cuchivero  to  the  rapids  of  Attires  and  Maipures  t!ie 
Jesuit  Missioners  hail  on  the  sotithern  bank  of  the  lower  Oid- 
noco  five  Indian  settlements  and  one  on  the  oi)[)Osite  margin, 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  Caracas,  founded  from  the  time  of 
their  establishment  in  the  year  1732,  at  various  distances,  with 
twelve  hundred  and  seventy-two  persons,  the  most  civilized 
and  useful  of  all  the  Provinces,  six  thousand  head  of  largj 
cattle  belonging  to  the  .Mission  and  over  one  thousand  pos- 
sessed by  the  Indians,  and  several  Spanish  families  established 
among  tliem  and  contributing  not  a  little  to  the  happiness  of 
the  Indians  and  to  the  subsistence  of  those  settlements,  in 
sjnte  of  the  insalubrious  climate  and  poverty  of  the  soil,  t!iat 
seems  to  be  full  of  deleterious  exiialations,  injurious  to  man 
and  to  the  plants;  but  the  Jesuits  prelerred  it,  on  account;  of 
fronting  the  Meta  river,  for  the  sake  of  tlie  navigation  and 
commerce  of  the  Kingdom  of  Santa  Fe,  where  they  had  their 
Superior  and  their  colleges. 


245 

For  the  \vAt  of  the  three  small  Indian  settlements  on  the 
upj)er  Orinoco  and  Rio  Negro,  consisting  of  five  hundred  and 
forty  souls,  as  well  as  the  exploration  of  the  cocoa  plants  in 
those  wild  forests.  I  sent  as  CommissioneFS  the  Prefect  of  the 
Aiidalusian  Capuchin  Mission,  Fr.  Josef  Antonio  de  Xei'es, 
the  Lieutenant  of  Infantry,  Don  Francisco  Bovadilla,  Com- 
mander of  the  detachment  and  frontier  of  Rio  Negro,  and 
who  was  to  he  the  Captain  settler  of  the  Esmeralda,  and  is 
now  Governor  of  Los  Quijos,  and  Don  Apolinar  Diez  de  la 
Fuente,  and  they  certified,  without  discrepancy,  on  the  28th  of 
November,  1767,  that  the  groves  (cocoa  trees)  were  so  exten- 
sive and  prolific  that  they  could  supply  this  Province  with 
the  produce  and  ship  it  to  Spain  with  a  profit  to  the  pur- 
chaser. 

Nothing  was  then  known  of  the  extensive  inland  territor}' 
of  this  Pi'ovince,  beyond  the  thirty  leagues  held  by  the  Cata- 
lan Capuchin  Missioners.  The  geographical  charts  showed 
that  even  after  leaving  between  the  foreign  colonies  and  our 
establishments  a  desert  of  eighty  or  a  hundred  leagues  so  as 
to  avoid  their  commerce  and  communication,  we  hael  yet  left 
many  hundreds  of  scjuare  leagues  to  settle  and  occupy  with 
great  profit  to  the  State  and  to  religion,  but  it  is  our  misfortune 
that  everything  was  not  only  unknown  to  the  Spaniards,  but 
abandoned  to  foreign  Colonies,  introducing  their  men  with 
the  Caribs,  trading  in  slaves  from  the  barbarous  tribes  inliab- 
iting  tiie  center  of  this  extensive  country,  improving  their 
establishments  consideraldy  on  the  sea  coast  and  the  Amazon 
river,  leaving  our  land  deserted  anel  unfit  to  be  occupied  in 
the  future  for  want  of  the  natives  gone,  if  we  do  not  take 
prompt  and  efficient  measures  on  our  side,  advancing  to  the 
frontiers  ttt  stop  the  strangers  in  their  incursions  and  usurpa- 
tions of  the  dominions  of  His  Majesty. 

With  this  knowledge,  and  sure  that  there  has  not  been,  nor 
are  there  in  this  Province,  any  Indians  to  be  reduced  or  con- 
vei'ted  by  the  wore!  or  preaching  only,  and  that  it  was  neces- 
sary force  or  gifts  to  bring  them  out  from  the  forests  and  keep 
them  in  ciA-il  and  Christian  society,  and  observing  that  the 
more  diligent  Missioners  avail  themselves  for  that  purpose  of 
the  escort  of  soldiers  granted  to  them  by  the  Governe)r,  I  came 


246 

to  tli(^  rMiu-lusioii,  afU'V  iiKituro  reflection,  that  it  should  be 
better,  for  the  reduction  and  pacification  of  the  same,  to  do  so 
directly  through  the  soldiers  under  their  own  officers  and 
Commanders,  rather  than  place  them  under  the  Missioners, 
from  whom  they  do  not  expect  any  inducement  of  reward  or 
punishment.  At  the  same  time  this  city  has  no  public  reve- 
nues, and,  as  I  have  said,  its  inhabitants  just  transferred  are 
very  poor,  and  in  want  of  all  the  necessaries  of  human 
life,  surrounded  everywhere  l)y  a  horrible  desert,  making  im- 
possible for  tliem  their  subsistence,  if  no  Indian  settlement 
wt're  foundcil  in  the  neighborhood  for  the  necessary  products, 
and  hands  for  the  establishment  and  comfort  of  the  Sj)aniards  ; 
but  I  am  in  want  of  the  necessary  means  to  meet  thest^  require- 
ments, as  there  wna  no  money  in  the  Treasury,  but  only  lia- 
bilities, and  from  Santa  Fe  there  was  very  faint  hope  of  su|)port, 
on  account  of  similiar  indigence. 

This  miserable  condition  of  this  Province,  in  spite  of  my  de- 
sire to  correspond  to  the  Royal  confidence  reposed  in  me, 
trying  to  secure  the  welfare  of  .the  country  as  far  as  it  was  in 
my  power,  influenced  my  determination  to  reduce  several 
Indians  from  the  forest  and  In'ing  at  my  expense  several  S})an- 
ish  families  from  the  neighboring  Provinces  and  organize  there 
a  settlement.  In  order  to  accomplish  this  im})ortant  project  I 
appointed  an  Administrator  to  collect  all  the  taxes  and  fees 
due  me  as  Governor  and  Chief  Justice,  from  the  excises,  })ilot- 
ages  and  anchorage  dues,  fines,  etc.,  the  receipts  of  which  at 
tiie  time  amounted  to  seven  thousand  five  hundred  and 
twenty-one  dollars;  that  as  shown  by  the  certificate  of  the 
collector,  Don  Diego  Marifio  (whose  testimony  is  the  voucher 
Xo.  3),  has  been  used  in  bringing  two  hundred  Spanish  fami- 
lies from  Ihc  neighboring  Provinees  of  Caracas,  Cumana, 
Harinas,  and  Margut'rita,  and  eighteen  settlements,  as  follows:. 
Marisanti  and  Pana-pana,  at  two  and  a  quarter  leagues  from 
this  eity,  within  the  territoi-y  of  the  Catalan  Capuchin  Mission, 
from  where  other  emigrants  have  been  taken,  from  the  settle- 
ments of  Monte  Calvario  and  Santa  Anna,  a  reduction  of 
Imlians  from  the  settlement  of  Puedpa,  and  almost  all  the  ex- 
}»enses  for  the  foundation   of  Barceloneta  in  the  Parana,  as 


247 

shown  likewise  by  the  certificate  of  the  Reverend  Father  Pre- 
fect, Fr.  Bruno  de  Barcelona  (whose  certified  copy  is  the 
voucher  No.  4). 

In  the  territory  of  the  Franciscan  Mission  I  have  founded 
and  improved  (as  shown  by  the  certificate  No.  5  from  the 
Reverend  Fathers)  the  settlements  of  Buena  Vista  and  another 
called  Copiche,  at  one  and  two  leagues,  respectively,  from  this 
city  ;  and,  penetrating  farther  into  the  interior  of  the  country, 
I  have  founded  the  settlements  of  Guaypa,  those  of  Saint 
Louis  and  San  Vicente  del  Crevato,  that  of  San  Francisco  del 
Yniquiari,  those  of  Conception  and  San  Carlos  of  Caura.  I 
have  rendered  help  to  those  of  Tapaquire  and  Mono  IMountain 
(Cerro  del  Mono),  all  Indian  settlements,  and  likewise  the 
Spanish  villages  Borbon  and  Carolina.  I  have  increased  the 
population  of  Real  Corona  and  sustained  that  of  Ciudad  Real, 
to  prevent  their  ruin  on  account  of  the  constant  sickness  of 
the  last  few  years. 

In  the  territory  to  be  occupied  by  the  Mission  of  the  Jesuits 
I  have  founded  in  a  healthy  and  advantageous  place  the 
village  of  Caicara,  with  Indians  and  Spaniards  dispersed  from 
the  settlement  of  Cabruta  of  the  Province  of  Caracas;  and  I 
have  likewise  sustained  the  other  settlements  left  by  the 
Jesuits  on  this  side  of  Orinoco,  notwitlistanding  the  horrible 
mortality  and  sickness  prevailing  in  certain  seasons  of  the  year 
in  all  of  them.  And  at  the  ujjper  Orinoco  and  Rio  Negro,  as 
shown  by  certificate  No.  6  of  the  ex-Prefect  and  Justice  of  the 
Andalusian  Cajuichin  Mission,  Fr.  Josef  Antonio  de  Xeres 
and  Fr.  Miguel  de  Nerja,  I  have  established  six  formal  settle- 
ments. Soma,  Santa  BarVjara,  Tuamini,  San  Gabriel,  San  Fran- 
cisco Solano,  and  Santa  Gertrudis,  all  at  the  expense  of  my 
fees  and  out  of  alms. 

I  have  founded  in  the  same  territory,  at  the  expense  of  the 
Royal  Treasury  (in  virtue  of  the  Royal  order  of  the  5th  of 
October  of  1768,  No.  7),  the  village  of  La  Esmeralda,  a  cattle 
farm  for  the  subsistence  of  those  inhalHtants;  and  I  have 
begun  the  foundation  of  twenty  other  Indian  settlements  on  the 
straight  road  which  I  have  opened  happily,  at  the  moderate 
cost  of  eleven  thousand  four  hundred  and  eighty-three  dollars, 


248 

asslidwii  l)y  certificate  No.  8  of  tlie  Royal  Treasury  Officer 
Don  Andrews  <le  Oleaga,  for  the  speediest  and  easiest  communi- 
cation of  all  these  new  estahhsliments  with  this  capital,  as 
well  as  (»n  account  of  the  knowlcduc  an<l  formal  possession  of 
this  tci'ritory  and  the  rednction  of  the  natives. 

And  linally,  in  order  to  occu])y  the  important  fiontier  ot 
Parime,  in  the  remotest  part  of  this  Pi'ovinee,  I  have  sent  a 
detachment  of  sixty  men,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant 
Don  Vicente  Diez  de  la  Fuente,  who  is  already  within  the 
sources  of  the  Parana  (river),  at  three  hundred  leagues  Irom  this 
capital,  founding  the  city  of  Guirior  with  Spanish  families  that 
I  have  sent  from  here,  and  other  Indian  settlements  founded 
on  the  same  route  to  answer  as  scales  (or  .stations)  for  our 
establishments  and  safety  of  the  King's  dominion  in  that 
region. 

The  Borhon  and  Carolina  villages  have  been  founded  at 
my  request,  the  former  by  Don  I'^rancisco  Josef  de  Espinosa, 
and  the  latter  by  Don  Francisco  Villasana,  residents  of  this 
Province,  and  each  one  has  accomplished  his  work  with  due 
formalities,  according  to  the  prescribed  rules  ana  laws,  without 
stipulating  nor  asking  for  any  assistance,  waiting  for  the 
approval  of  Your  Highness,  according  to  Royal  cedule  of 
November  14,  1779;  but  as  the  jurisdiction  and  the  lauds 
granted  by  law  are  of  little  or  no  value  at  present,  and  they 
have  worked  and  ex))ended  a  considerable  portion  of  their  own 
money,  especially  Villasana,  who  went  farther  into  the  interior 
to  fotmd  his  settlement.  1  eonsider  him  worthy  of  the  Royal 
fav(»r.  and  of  a  yearly  pension  of  two  hundred  dollars,  and 
besides  one  hundred  dollars  yearly  to  Espinosa,  during  Ijoth  of 
their  lifetime,  as  a  reward  well  deserved  and  .so  as  to  stinuilate 
others  to  tlie  same  work  of  jtopulation. 

The  di.stribution  made  of  farming  lands,  building  lots,  and. 
sites  for  breeding  cattle  is  made  by  the  laws  of  this  kingdom, 
and  I  was  instructed  by  Don  Jose  delturriaga  of  the  condition?) 
of  his  appointment  and  the  requirements  of  the  Royal  order 
that  he  quotes  of  the  21st  of  September,  1762,  that  no  title 
should  be  gi'iiiited  nor  the  |iroperty  awarded  before  the  im- 
])rovement  and  cultivation  of  thesame.     To  the  Indian  sett  e- 


249 

ments  I  allow,  as  commons,  one  league  of  forming  land  around 
•every  settlement  and  another  league  of  reseived  lands,  con- 
terminous with  the  other  settlements,  so  that  they  do  not  re- 
ceive any  injure  from  the  others,  nor  the  Spaniards  and  their 
cattle. 

To  every  Spanish  settlement  two  leagues  are  given  in  full 
all  around,  one  square  league  for  cattle  being  common  pas- 
ture ground  and  watering  places.  The  building  lots  are  sub- 
ject to  the  ability  of  the  neighbors  to  cover  as  much  space  as 
they  can  actually  occupy.  To  those  of  the  Esmeralda  village, 
in  consideration  of  the  long  distance  of  that  difficult  desert 
and  exhau-sted  place,  every  family  is  allowed  three  thousand 
wild  cocoa  trees  in  those  forests,  in  a  land  susceptible  of  multi- 
plying them  and  bearing  other  products,  a  site  for  breeding- 
cattle,  and  a  building  lot,  all  in  perpetuity ;  on  the  first  year 
they  are  allowed  two  laborers  and  rations  of  casave  and  jerked 
beef  and,  ibr  once  only,  two  hoes,  two  axes,  two  machetes,  two 
■caporanos  (?),  one  sow,  and  one  cow  to  each  family  ;  and  for  the 
commonwealth ,  commons  are  granted  as  well  as  pasture  grounds 
for  cows,  all  on  account  of  the  Royal  Treasury,  as  there  is  no 
other  recourse  for  the  subsistence  of  those  inhabitants  and  those 
of  Rio  Negro.  The  administration  is  in  charge  of  the  com- 
mander of  all  of  them,  Don  Antonio  Barreto,  Captain  of  In- 
fantry. 

To  the  other  Spanish  and  Indian  settlements,  as  they  have 
been  made  without  any  expense  to  the  Ro3'al  Treasury,  in  less 
convenient  places,  they  have  been  variously  considered  in 
regard  to  their  wants  and  what  has  been  found  possible  to 
allow  them. 

I  have  been  and  am  very  particular  in  reporting  and  giving 
an  account  of  everything  to  my  Superior,  and  I  have  the  satis- 
faction to  deserve  their  approval  of  my  zeal  and  conduct  (as 
shown  by  the  accompanying  letters  No.  9,  from  the  Governor 
of  Caracas,  Don  Josef  Solano,  and  the  Most  Excellent  Sirs  the 
Viceroys  Don  Pedro  de  la  Zerda  and  Don  Manuel  de  Guerior), 
and  I  expect  likewise  to  deserve  the  superior  approval  of  your 
Highness,  and  that  the  King  be  satisfied  of  my  services,  as  well 
41S  the  services  of  those  who  have  helped   me  in  particular  to 


250 

place  this  Province  in  tlit- jtrc-cnt  condition  of  welfare  in  which 
it  is,  and  the  merit  of  \vl)ich  1  can  not  refrain  from  hiving  be- 
fore yonr  Ilighne.ss,  saying  that  tlie  first  and  better  auxihary 
that  1  have  iiad  in  every  respect  has  l)een  the  Controller  of 
the  Treasury,  Don  Andres  Oleaga,  and  therefore  I  consider 
this  zealous  and  faithful  Minister  worthy  of  His  Majesty's 
favor  and  of  the  honor  oi  the  a|)pointment  of  Pa3'master  of 
AVar,  or  head  of  the  Tribunal  of  Accounts  at  Santa  Fe,  and 
that  a  Deputy  Koyal  Treasurer  be  ai)})ointed  to  help  him  in 
the  laborious  work  that  he  has  and  is  necessary  for  the  good 
administration  of  the  Treasury  Office,  and  its  improvement. 

The  second  is  Don  Antonio  Barreto,  acting  captain  of  one 
of  the  companies  on  duty  in  this  Province.  His  activity,^ 
talent,  diligence,  and  tlisinterestedness,  shown  in  the  settle- 
ments and  iini)rovcments  of  the  ui)per  Orinoco,  entitle  him  to 
the  Royal  kindness  and  the  honor  of  being  made  full  captain 
of  the  company  in  which  he  is  acting  as  such,  and,if  ]M)ssible, 
to  tlie  appointment  for  one  of  the  military  orders.  And  the- 
third  is  Don  Francisco  Amantegui,  Secretary  of  the  Com- 
mander General,  who  for  seven  years  has  been  serving  with 
honor,  intelligence,  diligence,  and  disinterestedness  and  is 
worthy  of  the  Royal  favor  and  to  be  allowed  the  appointment 
of  Royal  Treasurer  of  this  Province,  if  that  office  is  to  be 
created,  or  else  another  equivalent  distinction. 

May  (Jod  keep  your  Iligliiiess  in   his  holy  guard  lor  many 
years,  as  wanted  by  his  vassals. 

Guayatia  November  llth,  1773. 


This  i.s  a  copy  from  the  original  sent  by  the  Secretary  of  this- 
General  Command    of    ()rinoco   to   the  Royal  and    Supreme 
Council  of  the  Indies,  to  which  I  refer. 
City  of  Guayana,  November  11th,  1773. 

Fr.\nxisco  A.MANT]-:ori, 

Secretary — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


251 


Copy   of  the   Koyal    Order   of  Instructions. 

NHiiiher  1. 

The  King,  considering  the  importance  of  setting  upon 
another  footing  the  Government  of  the  Province  of  Guayana, 
for  its  best  j)rotectiun  and  conditions  and  facilities  to  reach  the 
Kingdom  of  Santa  Fe,  through  the  well  known  and  easy  navi- 
gation of  the  Orinoco,  and  to  remove  the  settlement  of  Guayana 
to  Angostura  on  the  same  river,  avoiding  the  unhealthiness  of 
the  place,  as  sliown  by  the  experience  of  its  inhabitants,  and  pre- 
venting the  increase  of  its  population,  he  has  concluded  to  erect 
a  separate  command  of  all  its  district  and  make  it  immediately 
subordinate  to  the  Alceroy  of  Santa  Fe,  sending  your  Honor 
to  fill,  pro  tempore,  this  office,  trusting  that  your  w^ell-known 
zeal  and  experience  will  carry  out  this  idea  witii  the  prompt- 
ness required,  on  account  of  the  importance  of  the  end  in  view. 
And  in  consequence  I  inform  your  Honor,  by  command  of  his 
Majesty,  that  immediately  after  receipt  of  this  notice  and  in- 
struction, with  the  corresponding  commision  accomi)anying 
the  same.  Your  Honor  will  depart  for  the  aforesaid  Province 
and  act  as  directed,  having  an  understanding  with  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Cumana,  to  whom  the  corresponding  orders  are  com- 
municated, about  his  action  and  the  assistance  he  has  to  render. 

His  Majesty  desires  that  you  estabhsh  your  headquarters  at 
Angostura,  distant  from  the  present  city  about  thirty-four 
leagues  from  the  Castle,  where  the  Orinoco  river  is  reduced  to 
eighty  (80)  yards  in  breadth,  and  you  will  remove  there  all  the 
residents  of  Gua^^ana  to  a  climate  much  better  calculated 
for  the  inhabitants  and  for  the  improvement  of  the  place  and 
facilitv  to  stop  the  progress  of  the  enemies.  From  the  new 
quarters  it  will  be  easy  to  bring  more  persons  and  forces  to 
dislodge  them  and  to  render  assistance  to  the  garrison  of  the 
castles,  preventing  the  entry  of  an  enemy  through  the  river  or 
the  ingress  of  traders  who  may  have  eluded  the  fortresses. 

Your  Honor,  without  any  loss  of  time,  will  endeavor  to  for- 
tify the  two  front  f)lanes  of  the  eastern  and  western  fort  of 
Padrastro  of  Guayana  with  a  strong  palisade,  parapet,  and 
earthworks,    defending   the    eastern   plan   with   heavy   guns 


252 

coiiiiiKiiiiliiiu  tlx'  1-i'iii'  Wdiks  (if  tlu'  Castle  and  the  jia'-s  to  the 
liigoons  uf  Baratilh)  and  Cciva,  so  as  to  ])i()tc'(t  tlie  nortliern 
irout  flank  of  the  fni-trcss  and  the  eastern  i>alisade,  embarrass- 
ing from  there  witli  minor  artillery  the  advanee  of  an  enemy 
hy  the  way  of  IJai-atillo.  Y^nr  Honor  will  raise  the  parapet 
of  the  western  curtain  und  i)laee  in  position  there  three  six- 
])<»nnders,  so  as  to  cover  that  front  with  a  seeond  palisade. 
The  tower  of  the  small  fort  must  he  taken  down  and  all  the 
interior  square  must  be  covered  with  tiles  and  pillars  of  heavy 
and  hard  wood,  fixed  on  the  terre-plein  in  contact  with  the 
interior  face  of  the  parapets  of  the  curtains,  where  they  do  not 
embarrass  the  defence. 

The  small  fort  of  Limones  must  be  eirded  by  a  counter  tbun- 
daiion  nine  feet  apart,  deepening  four  feet  more  than  the  ibun- 
dati(jn,  and  the  terre-])lein  it  has  mu-t  be  removed,  leaving  it 
oiily  two  and  a  half  feet  higher  for  the  opening  of  the  embra- 
■sui-es  for  the  artilleiy.  All  the  small  forts  shall  have  to  be 
covered  by  a  solid  flat  roof  on  the  l)anquet  of  the  parapet,  leav- 
ing a  skylight  for  the  communication  with  the  .sentries.  Four 
cannons  must  be  mounted,  two  of  them  eight-pounders-,  for  the 
defence  of  the  water  avenues,  and  two  four-pounders  for  those 
from  land,  and  four  more  on  the  roof  All  the  stones  taken 
fi'oin  the  small  fort  must  be  left  at  its  foot,  and  the  ea.stern 
[Miint  of  the  Linu)nes  creek  must  be  defended  l)y  sinking  stones. 

Your  II(jnor  will  have  to  build  two  cruising  launches,  one 
for  the  service  of  the  garrison  of  the  fort  and  the  other  for 
that  of  Angostura.  While  the  said  works  are  in  progress  (the 
expenses  must  come  out  of  the  fund  applied  to  the  building  of 
the  fortress  of  Limones),  you  will  separate  the  city  on  the 
soinhern  bank  from  the  Ang<i-tura  and  then  you  shall  convey 
there  all  the  cattle,  allowing  their  jiastui'e  tai'tlu'r  up. 

Your  Honor  will  not  allow  new  farms  for  the  cultivation  of 
vegetables  an<l  cereals  on  the  margins  of  the  Orinoco  below 
Angostura,  and  at  the  same  time  the  Indian  settlement  of 
8uay,  with  all  its  cattle,  must  be  removed,  as  soon  as  the 
works  of  the  fortress  are  finished,  they  shall  have  to  reside  at 
Angostura,  which  has  to  be  clo.sed  by  a  battery  jdaced  at  the 
l)lace  called  San  Felipe  and  on  the  eastern  point  of  a  hill  in  the 
rear.     Your  Honor  will  see  that  a  stronghold  be  built  to  an- 


'106 

swer  for  headquarters  and  defend  the  rear  of  the  popuh\tion 
and  the  battery,  p-iying  from  thera  due  attention  to  the  garri- 
son of  the  fort  and  to  prevent  tlie  [)ass  of  strangers  and  pro- 
tect the  Capuchin  ^Missions  of  Gua^vana  and  of  San  Fernando 
de  Atabapus,  those  of  the  Observant  P^ranciscan  Fathers  on 
the  eastern  part  of  Orinoco,  those  of  the  Jesuits  and  of  the 
Meta  (river),  as  well  as  those  of  the  dominions  of  Barinas, 
giving  them  the  necessary  escort. 

Considering  that  the  occupation  and  expenses  for  the  trans- 
fer of  the  Guayana  parties  will  deprive  them  for  a  long  time 
of  a  clnirch,  His  Majesty  has  granted  four  thousand  dollars  for 
such  a  building,  and  to  that  end  the  corresponding  order  has 
been  issued  to  the  Viceroy  of  Santa  Fe. 

To  the  actual  troop  of  tlie  assignment  of  the  forts  of  Guay- 
ana,  consisting  of  one  hundred  men,  the  seventy-three  of  the, 
escort  of  the  Jesuit  Missions  of  the  Orinoco  and  dominions  of 
Barinas  must  be  added  the  twenty-five  men  of  the  fort  of  Li- 
mones  and  fifty-two  that  must  be  furnished  as  directed  by 
the  Governor  of  Ciimana,  who  has  to  send  them  immediately 
in  company  with  tiiose  from  the  garrison  of  Araya  (dis- 
mounted), the  same  Governor  has  orders  to  increase  said  num- 
ber with  any  excess  left,  after  meeting  other  wants.  Your 
Honor  will  organize  this  troop  into  two  companies  with  their 
corresponding  officers. 

The  Governor  of  Camana  is  directed  likewise  to  send  to 
Guayana  all  the  artillery  from  Araya,  to  the  extent  that  he 
may  find  necessary,  helping  your  Honor,  and  facilitating  in 
all  your  wants  what  you  may  urgently  require  within  his 
power. 

By  order  of  the  King  I  make  you  acquainted  with  the  fore- 
going directions,  so  that  y(m  will  at  once  depart  for  your  des- 
tination and  carry  out  the  tenor  of  the  present  instructiuns. 
His  Majesty  has  no  doubt  of  your  well  known  zeal  and  con- 
duct, and  hopes  that  you  will  do  your  best  to  meet  his  expec- 
tations, considering  the  importance  of  the  present  subject. 

May  the  Lord  keep  your  life  for  many  years. 

Aranjuez,  June  the  oth,  1762. 

The  Bailiff,  Fr.  Dox  Julian  de  Arriaga. 

Senor  Don  Joaquin  Moreno  y  Mendoza. 


254 

The  above  is  a  coj)}'  of  tlic  oriuiiial   IJoyal  order  of  instrue- 
tioii.s    ke])t    in   tlie   Arehive.s  of  the   Coiumaiidcr   ( it'iK-ral  of 
Orinoco  and  Guavana,  to  which  I  refer. 
City  of  (iiiayana.  Novemln'r  11th,  177."). 
Francisco  de  Amantkoui, 

.Secretary — [here  is  a  llourish]. 


Number  ?. 
Don  Jose|)h   de  Ilui'ria-j,a,  Chevalier  of  the  Order  of  Santiago, 

Chii'f  of  the  Royal   squadron,  Commander  General  of  the 

settlements  and  all  the  Orinoco. 

Whereas,  by  Royal  Order  of  the  24th  of  October,  170U,  His 
Majesty  has  kindly  granted  me  permission  to  remain  in  the 
Province  of  A^mezuela,  Cuniana.  and  any  other  })lace  thai  I 
may  think  fit  for  the  accomplishment  of  my  views  in  regard 
to  the  foundation  of"  Cuidad  Real  "'  and  that  of  "  Real  Corona," 
the  tenor  of  whirh  is  as  follows  : 

"  Notwithstanding  that  by  a  separate  order  of  the  third  in- 
stant, inclose<l  herewith,  your  Honor  is  dii'ected  to  return  to 
these  Kingdoms,  with  all  the  persons  who  left  them  to  partici- 
pate in  the  commission  for  the  treaty  of  boundaries,  His  Majesty 
considers  that  if  your  Honor  finds  that  your  personal  presence 
in  the  Province  ot  \'eiiezuela,  Cumana,  or  any  otlioi'  })lace 
that  your  Honor  thinks  to  bi-  calculated  to  accomplish  success- 
fully the  important  views  that  your  Honor  has  had  in  under- 
taking the  foundation  of  settlements  and  cities,  one  at  the  site 
ot  Yape,  on  the  soutlicni  margin  ol'  the  ( )riii(X-o,  and  the  other 
called 'Real  Corona,'  near  the  Arov  river,  according  to  the 
advice  of  your  Honor  by  letter  of  the  10th  of  March  of  this 
year,  your  Honor  will  instruct  the  other  commissioners  to 
I'l'turn  to  Si)ain,  as  soon  as  they  find  the  opportunity  to  do  so, 
and  your  Honor  may  i-emain  lor  the  time  necessary  for  the 
accomplishment  of  the  settlement  of  the  cities  in  course  of 
erection,  and  the  subsistence  of  places  more  ade(|uate  for  the 
protection  of  the  territories  of  His  Majesty. 

"  May  the  Lord  keep  your  life  for  many  3'ears. 

'■Madrid.  24tli    of  October,  17<)0. 

"  The  Bailiff,  Fk.  Don  Julian  de  Akriaga. 

"  To  Seiior  Don  Joseph  de  Iturriaga." 


255 

And  likewise  by  another  Royal  order  of  the  twenty-second 
of  September  of  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty  two,  His  Majesty 
agrees  with  my  remaining  in  the  commission  for  the  improve- 
ment of  settlements,  and  to  be  recognized  as  Commander 
General  of  the  same  and  of  all  the  river  Orinoco ;  by  another 
Royal  order  of  the  twenty-first  of  said  month  and  year,  trying 
by  the  most  acceptable  means  to  prevent  the  entrance  of  the 
Portuguese  or  their  permanence  in  any  places  where  they  may 
prove  injurious  to  our  natives;  and  by  another  (Royal  cedule) 
of  April  of  seventeen  hundi-ed  and  sixty-five,  I  am  directed, 
in  regard  to  the  reduction  and  preservation  of  the  natives  of 
the  upper  and  lower  Orinoco  and  Rio  Negro,  to  concur  for 
for  that  purpose  with  Don  Joseph  Solano,  witiiout  any  jealousy 
of  his  interfering  with  my  jurisdiction,  as  Commander  General 
of  these  establishments,  and  His  Majesty  wanting  our  mutual 
concurrence  in  everything  appertaining  to  the  Royal  service. 

For  that  reason  and  the  unanimous  advice  of  two  Surgeons 
of  my  attendance,  in  \nj  present  complaint  of  inciident  [)aral3''- 
sis,  advising  my  change  of  climate,  leaving  this  Castle  for  a 
tem[)erate  and  milder  one,  I  have  decided,  in  virtue  of  the  first 
Royal  order,  already  quotei,  to  go  to  the  neighborhood  of  the 
city  of  Caracas,  leaving  the  command  of  this  province  of 
Guayana  in  charge  of  Don  Manuel  Centurion,  Captain  of 
Artillery  of  the  fort  of  Guayana. 

Don  G;ispar  de  Salaverria  has  written  to  him  in  my  name, 
on  the  second  of  January,  last,  notwithstanding  that  said 
officer  by  the  order  of  the  King  of  October  the  eighth,  of 
seventeen  hundred  and  sixty-two,  is  under  my  orders  to  render 
his  help  in  the  foundation  and  subsistence  of  this  city,  that  of 
the  Real  Corona,  and  others  to  be  established  on  the  upper 
Orinoco,  Rio  Xegro,  for  the  protection  of  the  lands  of  his 
Majesty,  and  the  other  affairs  under  my  charge,  and  for  every- 
thing connected  with  the  Royal  service. 

Therefore,  considering  all  the  circumstances  and  the  Cjuali- 
ties  and  merits,  love,  zeal,  honor,  and  nobility  concurring  and 
shown  by  the  Royal  trust,  in  the  person  of  said  Don  Manuel 
Centurion,  and  in  virtue  of  the  Royal  powers  vested  in  me,  as 
Coaimander  General,    [   appjint,    name,  anl  constitute  said 


2.'(; 

Cummandor  of  the  Province  of  Guayana,  Captain  Don  Manuel 
Centurion,  to  fill  niy  place  as  Lieutenant  Commander  General 
of  the  settlement  nml  of  all  the  Orinoco  i-ivcr,  and  grant  him 
all  my  powiTs  without  limitation,  to  do,  jtcndiiiL!,-  my  absence, 
the  same  as  1  wouhl  and  oUi;ht  to  do  in  hoth  of  said  new'cities 
iind  the  settlement  of  Cuchiveio,  whose  Indians  and  those  of 
the  CaiVe  trihe  and  their  aggregation  are  incorporated  by  royal 
order  of  the  twentieth  of  September,  of  seventeen  hundred  and 
sixty-two,  to  the  neighborhood  of  this  IJoyal  city.  Likewise  at 
thr  u[iper  ( )riuoeo  and  Uio  Xegi'o  lie  will  act  as  the  require- 
ments of  the  occasion  may  demand,  reporting  every  case  to  me 
and  to  the  Governor  and  Captain  General  of  the  Province  of 
Venezuela,  the  Naval  Captain,  Don  Joseph  Solano,  whose  as- 
sent is  require<l  in  his  aflai'/s. 

And  I  order  and  command  the  Captains  of  the  new  settle- 
ments an<l  those  of  Cuchiveio,  and  t;)  all  the  neighboring  in- 
habitants and  residents  of  the  same,  and  every  other  person 
tliat  in  any  manner  be  under  my  orders,  to  receive  him  as  I 
do,  and  to  consider  well  received  said  Don  Manuel  Centurion,, 
in  tlie  use  and  exereise  of  my  })OWers  and  in  my  place,  as 
Lieutenant  Commander  Creneral  of  the  settlements  of  all  tlie 
Orinoco  river,  to  obey  his  orders  l)y  word  of  mouth  or  in  writ- 
ing, and  observe  and  submit  to  his  directions  as  my  own,  in 
virtue  of  the  present  letters  by  which  1  bestow  on  liiin  all  mv 
|)owers,  without  any  limitation,  paying  him  all  due  respect, 
and  the  honors,  graces,  allowances,  exemptions,  immunities, 
and  pi'ivileges  due  to  the  Lieutenant  Commander  General  of 
the  settlements  of  all  the  Orinoco,  under  jienalty  of  lieing 
punished  for  disobedience,  according  to  law. 

And  as  His  Majesty,  by  Royal  order  dated  at  San  Ildefonso 
on  the  '21st  of  September,  of  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty-two,, 
granted  me  the  power  to  offer  and  give  lots  for  lunises  in  the 
new  settlements  of  niy  command,  tarniing  lands  and  sites  for 
pasture  ground  for  breeding  eattle,  lands  tor  sugar  cane,  and 
other  p)roducts  of  exi)ortation,  granting  the  corresponding 
titles  of  conveyance,  subject  to  the  Royal  confirmation  alter 
my  report  of  every  case  to  His  Majesty.  For  this  purpose 
and  to  avoid  any   delay  in  the  service  of    His   Majesty,  the 


257 

new  establishments  in  my  charge,  durhig  my  absence,  I  com- 
mission said  Captain  Don  Manuel  Centurion  so  to  make 
grants  to  the  neighbors  of  said  two  cities  of  the  aforesaid  lands 
in  the  name  of  His  Majesty  the  King,  whenever  said  neighbors 
have  not  received  any  before,  using  my  own  powers  from  the 
same  source,  and  observing  all  judicial  iormalities  for  the  pos- 
session of  the  same,  and  sending  me  copies  of  the  same  pro- 
ceedings in  due  form, in  order  to  obtain  their  final  confirmation. 
And  as  I  have  empowered  the  Captain  and  ordinary  Judge  of 
this  city  to  grant  possessions  of  farming  lands  and  pasturage 
grounds  to  the  neighbors  who  have  petitioned  for  the  same,  I 
recommend  especially  to  the  said  Don  Manuel  Centurion  the 
observance  of  said  commission  and  powers,  calling  for  all  the 
proceedings  already  closed  and  sending  me  authenticated 
copies,  while  keeping  the  original  papers  in  the  corresponding 
Archives. 

Therefore,  in  virtue  of  all  that  has  been  mentioned,  I  have 
ordered  the  present  letters  to  be  issued  and  sealed  in  my  pres- 
ence and  countersigned  by  my  undersigned  secretary,  before 
witnesses,  owing  to  my  inability  to  sign  the  same,  on  account 
of  my  present  physical  affliction,  already  mentioned,  in  this 
Royal  City  (Ciudad  Real)  of  Orinoco,  on  the  28th  of  Januar}', 
1767. 

By  command  of  the  Commander  General — 

IctNAcio  de  Chorroco — [here  is  a  seal]. 

Dox  Gaspar  de  Salaverri.a, 
Sergeant  Major  of  the  Garrison  of  Cumana, 
and  Don  Carlos  Moran  del  Castillo, 

Resident  of  this  city. 


We  certify,  in  due  legal  form,  that  we  were  witnesses  at  the 
time  when  the  present  commission  was  read  to  the  Com- 
mander General,  Don  Josef  de  Iturriaga,  by  his  secretary,  Don 
Ignacio  Chorroco,  and  said  Chief  issued  and  expedited  the  same 
with  all  its  details  and  circumstances  therein  expressed,  and 
did  not  sign,  as  he  is  unable  to  use  his  right  hand,  but  his  sec- 
retary did  so. 

Vol.  K,  Ve>j.— 17 


258 

In  testiinouy  wiiereot'  wo  sign  tlu'  j)i-c'sont  act  and  i\\v  a1)0ve 
c'Dimiii.ssion,  in  tlie  same  city,  on  tho  same  <lay,  month,  and 
year. 

Gaspar  Salaverria. 

Carlos  Jacinto  ^Toran  del  Castillo. 


It  agrees  with  the  original  document  from  which  we,  the 
undersigned  acting  witnesses,  for  want  of  a  Notary  Tublic,  in 
virtue  of  a  verbal  order  of  his  Honor  the  Commander  (Jeneral 
of  tliis  Province  of  (Uiayana,  drew  this  co})y,  well  and  faitli- 
fuUy  written  and  correcte(l  in  five  folios,  with  the  first  under 
stamp  No.  4. 

*  In  testimony  whereof  we  sign  the  present  act  in  Guayana,  on 
the  eleventh  day  of  November,  of  seventeen  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-three. 

MiciUEL  Mexia — [here  is  a  llourish]. 

Miguel  de  Oleaga — [here  is  a  fiourisli]. 


W'c,  Don  Josef  Ventura,  Pastor  of  the  Parish  Church  of  this 
city  of  Guayana,  and  Don  Andres  de  Oleaga,  Accomptant  of 
the  Royal  Treasury  of  the  same  city  for  His  Majesty,  do  cer- 
tify that  the  two  signatures  authorizing  the  above  document 
are  the  same  as  used  by  Don  Miguel  Mexia  and  Don  Miguel 
de  Oleaga,  the  witnesses  with  whom,  for  want  of  a  Notary 
Public,  the  Tribunal  of  tliis  Commander  General  is  acting,  a.s 
they  are  faithful  and  loyal,  trustworth}'',  and  possessing  all  the 
other  circumstances  required  by  the  law  of  these  Kingdoms, 
and  therefore  to  all  the  acts  signed  l)y  them  due  credit  and 
full  faith  is  given  judicially  and  extra-judicially. 

In  testimony  whereof  we  sign  the  [)resentact  in  (luayana,  on 
the  eleventh  day  of  November,  of  seventeen  hundred  and  sev- 
mty-three. 

JusE  ^"KXTL■l{A — [here  is  a  flourish]. 
Andres  Oleaga — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


259 


Copy  of  Royal  Cedule  of  Boundaries. 

The  King,  my  Viceroy,  Governor  and  Captain  General  of  the 
new  Kingdom  of  Granada  and  President  of  my  Royal  Audi- 
ence of  the  city  of  Santa  Fe.     Don  Josef  de  Iturriaga,  Chief 
of  Squadron  of  my  Royal  Navy,  directed  that  the  General  Com- 
mand of  the  new  settlements  of  the  lower  and  higher  Orinoco 
and  Rio  Negro,  that  he  controlled,  should  remain  as  it  is  on 
account  of  his  demise,  in  charge  of  the  Governor  and  Com- 
mander of  Guayana.     I  have  agreed  to  accept  this  resolution, 
and  finding  convenient  to  my  Royal  service  the  invariable  sub- 
sistence, subject  to  my  further  resolution,  of  the  above  expressed 
aggregation  to  the  same  Governor  and  Commander  of  Guayana 
as  the  nearest  to  the  above  places,  and  therefore  until  now  in 
charge  of  the  escort  of  the  Missions  of  the  same  Province,  to 
have  it  under  the  same  Command,  always  subordinated  to  that 
Captain  Generalship,  the  whole  of  said  Province,  the  limits  of 
which  are :    on  the  north,  the  lower  Orinoco,  the  southern 
boundary  of  the  Provinces  of  Cumana  and  Venezuela ;  on  the 
west,  the  upper  Orinoco,  the  Casiquiari  and  Rio  Negro ;  on  the 
south,  the  Amazon  river,  and  on  the  east,  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 
1  have  decided  to  make  this  declaration  and  to  send  you  the 
present  Royal  Cedule,  in  virtue  of  which  I  command  you  to 
communicate  the  corresponding  orders  for  its  compliance  to 
all  the  Tribunals,  Governors,  and  Officers  to  whom  it  may 
concern,  for  its  observance  and  notice,  that  such  is  my  will 
and  that  this,  my  Royal  Cedule,  will  be  transferred  to  my 
Council  of  the  Indies  for  the  ends  that  may  be  found  adequate, 
in  a  coj^y  sent  by  the  undersigned  Secretary  of  State  and  of 
the  Department  of  the  Indies. 

Given  at  Aranjuez  on  the  fifth  of  May,  seventeen  hundred 
and  sixty-eight. 

I,  the  King —  Don  Julian  de  Arriaga. 

It  is  a  legal  copy  of  the  original  one,  existing  in  this  Secre- 
taryship of  the  Chamber  of  the  Most  Excellent  Viceroy  of  this 
new  Kingdom  of  Granada,  to  which  I  refer. 

Santa  Fe,  January  10th,  1769, 

Francisco  Silvestre. 


2G() 

This  is  a  copy  of  the  Royal  Cedule,  adilrcssed  l)y  tlio  Secrc' 
tary  of  the  Most  Excellent  Viceroy  of  this  district,  to  tlie  Com- 
mander General  of  the  Orinoco  and  Guayana. 
I  certify  to  the  fjict. 
City  of  Guayana,  November  11th,  1773. 

Francisco  de  Anantegui, 

Secretary — [here  is  a  floui'ish]. 


Certificate   by  the  Collector  of  Kevemies. 

Number  3. 

Don  Diego  Marino,  Collector  of  the  Ivcvenues  and  dues  given 
over  to  the  City  of  Santo  Thome  of  the  Guayana,  by  Don 
Manuel  Centurion,  Governor  and  Commander  General  of 
this  Province. 

I  certify  and  swear  in  due  form,  according  to  law,  that  as 
this  city  was  witliout  any  revenues  for  its  subsistence  or 
means  to  carry  out  the  public  works,  and  being  in  want  of  a 
Churcli,  Royal  Offices,  and  Court  houses,  and  other  puldic 
buildings  necessary  and  convenient  for  the  public  service  in 
ever}^  city,  and  still  more  necessary  in  the  capital  of  a  Province 
as  this  is,  said  Governor,  Don  Manuel  Centurion,  decided,  as 
soon  as  he  took  possession  of  liis  command,  that  all  dues  and 
charges  belonging  to  him  as  Clhief  Justice,  the  excises,  fees 
for  visits,  countersigning  weiglits  and  measures,  and  acts  of 
justice,  and  what  l)elongs  to  the  Governor  out  of  clearances 
and  visits  of  vessels,  and  everything  that  in  other  Provinces  is 
considered  as  due  or  fee  of  the  Governor,  except  the  salary 
allowed  by  His  Majesty,  and  [)aid  to  me  as  Collector  of  Reve- 
nues, and  city  taxes,  as,  indeed,  it  has  been  done  since  the  year 
seventeen  hundred  and  sixty-eigiit  to  the  present  time,  during 
which  I  liave  received  in  my  administration  on  account  of  said 
branches  the  sum  of  seven  (the  word  thousand  is  missing)  five 
hundred  and  twenty-one  dollars  from  the  monopoly  of  Guarapo 
(fermented  molasses),  cock-pit  licenses,  that  by  direction  of  the 
same  Coiinnandoi-  were  applied  for  the  Ijeneht  of  the  building 


2(31 

of  the  Church  and  other  Royal  puhlic  houses  and  general 
hospital,  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-one. 

I  have  received  likewise  the  amount  of  four  thousand  five 
hundred  and  thirty-six  dollars,  with  an  addition  of  four  thou- 
sand two  hundred  and  eighty -five  dollars  from  private  alms  for 
other  purposes,  in  all  the  amount  of  sixteen  thousand  three  hun- 
dred and  thirty-nine  dollars,  which  have  been  applied  to  the  re- 
duction of  the  Indian  tribes  Guainavis,  Maquiritares,  Mariusas, 
Aleviriannos,  Viras,  Puraonnes,  Pandacotos,  Quiriquiripas,  and 
other  various  gentile  tribes  who  inhabited  barbarously  the 
forests  of  this  Province,  and  from  where  the}^  have  been  re- 
moved by  direction  of  the  Governor,  Don  Manuel  Centurion,  to 
live  a  Christian  and  civilized  life  under  the  rule  of  the  King  our 
Lord,  in  the  settlements  of  the  Maruanta,  Pana-pana,  Oroco- 
piche,  and  Buena  Vista,  founded  by  said  Governor  in  the 
neighborhood  of  this  capital,  as  well  as  those  of  San  Carlos  of 
Caura,  La  Conception,  and  San  Francisco  del  Iruquiari,  those 
of  Santa  Rafael  de  Guipa,  that  of  San  Louis,  and  that  of  San 
Vicente  de  Crevato,  that  of  Santa  Barbara,  in  the  high  Orinoco, 
and  likewise  that  of  San  Antonio  de  Fuiamini,  those  of  Santa 
Clara  de  Sama,  and  Santa  Gertrudes,  besides  the  following  at 
Rio  Negro — the  three  settlements,  Pimichimi,  Cunuripi,  and 
San  Francisco  Solano. 

Part  of  these  funds  have  been  likewise  used  in  the  foundation 
of  the  village  of  Barceloneta  and  the  reduction  of  its  neighbor- 
ing Indians  in  Paruara ;  in  the  expedition  sent  to  occupy  the 
Parime  lake,  and  to  explore  the  mountain  El  Dorado  and  some 
unknown  southern  lands  in  the  interior  of  this  Province  at  a 
distance  of  over  four  hundred  leagues  from  this  capital,  for 
the  discovery  of  which  he  is  working  and  founding,  in  the 
same  direction,  several  wild  Indian  settlements  and  the  city  of 
Guirior  with  Spaniards,  to  secure  those  important  conquests 
and  facilitate  our  establishment  in  the  Parime. 

And,  finally,  out  of  the  same  funds  in  my  charge  and  otber 
means  obtained  through  the  probity  and  zeal  of  said  Gover- 
nor, Don  Manuel  Centurion,  the  banks  of  the  rivers,  where 
this  city  is  founded,  have  been  filled  up  and  the  rocks  encum- 
bering the  same  have  been  removed,  making  besides  good 


2(52 

streets  ami  buihling  lots  easy  to  be  iiii|)rove(l  ;  theC'liuieh  lias 
been  improved  seven  yards  higher  above  its  foundation,  as 
far  as  was  possible,  out  of  the  six  thousand  dollars  allowiMl  l)y 
the  King  for  the  same,  and  a  great  deal  of  brick  and  lime  bas 
been  accumulated  for  arches  and  vaults.  A  decent  Royal 
Ofhce  lias  been  built  of  good  inat"rials,  wbere  the  (Tovernor 
is  sto]iping  at  present,  and  finally  six  more  bouses  of  good 
materials  bave  been  Iniilt  for  public  uses,  at  an  expense  of  tbree 
tliousand  dollai's,  returning  a  rent  of  tliree  hundred  dollars  a 
year,  as  it  is  sbown  in  detail  by  the  books  and  accounts  in  my 
charge,  to  which  I  refer. 

And  in  order  to  show  the  same  facts,  wbenever  convenient, 
I  sign  the  present  at  the  request  of  the  said  Governor,  Don 
Manuel  Centurion,  in  this  City  of  Guayana,  on  tbe  eleventb 
da}'  of  November,  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-tlin-e. 

DiKGo  Igxacio  JNIarixo. 


This  copy  agrees  with  the  original  document,  from  where  it 
was  taken  bv  the  undersioned,  actin<>-  witnesses,  for  want  of  a 
Notary  Public,  in  virtue  of  the  verbal  order  of  his  Honor,  the 
Commander  General  of  tbis  Province  of  Guayana,  being  well 
and  faitbfully  written  and  corrected  in  three  folios,  with  the 
lii'st  l)earing  a  stamj)  of  tbe  fourtli  class. 

In  testimony  whereof  we  sign  the  present  in  Guaj'ana,  on 
the  eleventh  day  of  November,  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy- 
tbrce. 

Miguel  Mexia — [here  is  a  flourisb]. 
Miguel  dk  Oleaga — [bere  is  a  Hourisli]. 


We,  Don  Josepb  W^ntui'a,  Pastor  of  tbe  Parish  Cliurcli  of 
tbis  city  of  Guayana,  and  Don  Andres  de  Oleaga,  Accomptant 
of  the  Poyal  Treasury  of  His  Majesty,  certify  :  Tbat  the  two 
signatures,  authorizing  the  above  document,  are  the  same  as 
are  used  by  Don  Miguel  Mexia  and  Don  Miguel  de  Oleaga, 
acting  witnesses,  for  want  of  a  Notary  Public,  in  the  Tribunal 
of  the  Commander  General,  and  that  both  are  faithful  and 
trustworthy,  possessing  all  the  c-[ualifications  required  by  the 


2G3 

laws  of  these  kingdoms.  And  therefore  to  all  the  instruments 
wliich  they  attest  full  f\iith  and  credit  are  given,  both  judicially 
and  extra-judicialh'. 

Tn  testimony  whereof  I  sign  the  present  in  Guayana,  on  the 
eleventh  of  November,  of  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy- 
three. 

Andres  de  Oleaga — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

Joseph  ^^ENTURA — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


State  of  the  Settlements  of  the  Catalan  Capuchin  Mission 

of  Guayana. 

Number  If.. 

State  of  the  Missions  of  the  Reverend  Catalan  Capuchin 
Fathers  of  the  Province  of  Guayana,  founded  since  the  year 
seventeen  hundred  and  twenty-four,  with  others  of  new  founda- 
tion by  the  Commander  General  of  this  Province,  Don  Manuel 
Centurion,  shown  by  the  actual  Reverend  Father  Prefect  Fr. 
Bruno  de  Barcelona,  in  compliance  with  the  Cedule  from  the 
Buen  Retiro  in  the  year  of  seventeen  hundred  and  one.  To 
this  end  a  visit  was  made  in  the  present  year  of  seventeen 
hundred  and  seventy.  This  state  agrees  with  the  matricula 
sent  by  the  i\Iost  Reverend  Fathers  of  the  Mission  of  the  Im- 
maculate Conception  from  Caroni  to  their  President,  Father 
Manuel  de  Preixana  and  the  Most  Reverend  Father  Prefect. 

1.  The  Indians  of  this  Mission  are  Guayanos ;  they  were 
transferred  from  the  Mission  of  Suay  (by  order  of  the  King), 
in  which  they  had  been  founded  in  the  year  seventeen  hun- 
dred and  twenty-four.  Baptized,  1,151 ;  married  by  the  Church. 
301 ;  deaths,  777  ;  existing,  388. 

2.  Mission  of  our  Father  San  Francisco  de  Alta-gracia  ; 
President,  the  Reverend  Father  Felix  de  Villanueva. 

The  Indians  of  this  Mission  are  Guayanos,  and  all  baptized. 
They  were  founded  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  thirty- 
four.  Baptized,  1,552  ;  married  by  the  Church,  300  ;  deaths, 
0)20  ;  existing,  540. 


•J(i4 

3.  Mission  of  Saint  Joseph  of  (Jiipapuy  ;  its  President,  the 
Reverend  Father  Joachin  Maria  de  Martortorel. 

The  Indians  of  this  Mission  are  all  baptized,  and  from  the 
Guayanos  tribes.  It  was  founded  in  the  year  seventeen  hun- 
dred and  thirty -three.  Baptized,  1,470 ;  married  by  the  Church, 
366  ;  deaths,  664  ;  existing,  403. 

4.  Mis.sion  of  Santa  Maria  de  los  Angeles  de  Yucuaii ;  its 
President,  Father  Kaymundo  de  Olot;  his  companion,  Fr. 
Carlos  de  Barcelona,  who  attends  to  the  sick. 

The  Indians  of  this  Mission  are  nearly  all  baptized  ;  a  few 
are  (Juayanos,  othei's  Caribs,  and  others  Panacayos.  These 
Indians  were  tran.sferred  from  the  Missions  of  Amaruca,  founded 
in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  thirty,  on  account  of  the 
Ixul  climate.  Baptized,  799;  married  by  the  Church,  363; 
deaths,  690 ;  existing,  269. 

5.  Mission  of  the  Divine  Shei)herdess  of  Yuruari ;  its  Presi- 
dent, Father  Antonio  de  Martorell. 

The  Indians  of  this  Mission  are  all  baptized,  ami  of  the  Guay- 
anos tribe.  It  was  transferred  from  the  siteof  the  Yucuari,  on  ac- 
count of  better  convenience  for  the  cattle,  in  the  year  seventeen 
hundred  and  seventy.  Baptized,  374;  married  by  the  Church, 
92;  deaths,  234;  existing,  290. 

6.  Mission  of  Saint  Joseph  de  Leonisa  de  Ayma ;  its  Presi- 
dent, Reverend  Bernardino  de  Berdu. 

The  Indians  of  this  ^Mission  are  from  the  Guaicas  tribe  and 
from  the  Maragotos ;  most  of  them  are  baptized.  It  was 
founded  in  seventeen  hundred  and  fifty-three,  but  in  tlie  year 
of  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty-seven  they  all  took  to  the 
woods  on  account  of  the  earthquakes,  but  afterwards  mo.st  of 
them  came  out,  and,  with  other  arrivals,  there  are  already 
three  huntlrcd  and  eighty-eight.  Baptized,  599;  married  by 
the  Cliuivli,  11  :  deaths,  198;  existing,  388. 

7.  Mission  of  our  Lady  of  the  Ro.sary  of  Guazipati  ;  its  Pres- 
ident, the  Reverend  Father  Benito  de  la  Garriga. 

The  Indians  of  this  Mission  are  of  the  Carib  tribe.  It  was 
founded  in  *he  year  seventeen  hundred  and  fifty-seven ;  nearly 
all  are  baptized.  Baptized,  ,316;  married  by  the  Church,  16  ; 
deaths,  104  ;  existing,  370. 


265 

8.  Mission  of  Sau  Miguel  del  Carapo ;  its  President,  Father 
Thomas  de  Mataro. 

The  Indians  of  this  Mission  are  from  the  Carib  tribe ;  most 
of  them  are  baptized.  It  was  founded  in  the  year  seventeen 
hundred  and  fifty-two.  Baptized,  606  ;  married  by  the  Church, 
30;  deaths,  204;  existing,  410. 

9.  Mission  of  Our  Lady  of  La  Soledad  del  Cavallaju  ;  its 
President,  Father  Geronimo  de  Valifogona. 

The  Indians  of  this  INIission  are  from  the  Guaico  tribe.  It 
was  founded  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty-one.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty-nine 
they  took  to  the  woods,  on  account  of  the  measles  ;  about  fifty- 
nine  have  been  recovered  since.  Baptized,  208 ;  married  by 
the  Church,  11 ;  deaths,  70  ;  existing,  120. 

10.  Mission  of  Our  Lady  of  jNIonserrate  del  Miamo ;  its 
President,  Father  Buenaventura  de  Santa  Coloma. 

The  Indians  of  this  Mission  are  from  the  Carib  tribe.  Most 
of  them  are  baptized.  It  was  founded  in  the  year  seventeen 
hundred  and  forty-eight.  Baptized,  733;  married  by  the 
Church,  60  ;  deaths,  312  ;  existing,  501. 

11.  ]>kIission  of  Saint  Michael  of  Palmar;  its  President, 
Father  Francisco  de  San  .Inlian. 

The  Indians  of  this  Mission  are  Guayanos  and  Caribs.  It  was 
founded  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  forty-six.  Baptized, 
520;  married  by  the  Church,  108  ;  deaths,  264;  existing,  380. 

12.  Mission  of  San  Antonio;  its  President,  the  Reverend 
Father  Mariano  de  Savadell,  accompanied  by  Father  Domingo 
de  Arbucies. 

The  Indians  of  this  Mission  are  from  the  Guayanos  tiibe, 
all  baptized  ;  they  were  founded  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred 
and  sixty-five.  Baptized,  287;  married  by  the  Church,  64  ; 
deaths,  47  ;  existing,  248. 

13.  Mission  of  Saint  Raymond  de  Carauaci ;  its  President, 
Father  Pedro  de  Fugarola. 

The  Indians  of  this  Mission  are  Caribs  and  Cachigarotos. 
Founded  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty-three. 
Baptized,  83 ;  married  by  the  Church  1 ;  deaths,  20 ;  exist- 
ing, 130. 


2m 

14.  Mi>).sioii  of  Santa  l-^iilalia  (k-  Muiucuri  ;  its  President, 
Father  Thomas  de  San  Pedro. 

The  Indians  of  this  Mission  are  from  the  Carib  tribe,  and 
most  of  them  are  l)aptized.  It  was  founded  in  the  year  seven- 
teen hundred  and  sixty-four.  Baptized,  403  ;  married  by  the 
Churcli,  40;  deaths,  220;  existing,  368. 

15.  Mission  of  the  Calvary;  its  President,  Father  Joseph 
Antonio  de  Cervera. 

The  Indians  of  tliis  Mission  are  from  the  tribes  of  (Jnaraunos 
and  Salivas,  most  of  them  are  Ijaptized  ;  they  were  founded  in 
the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty-one.  At  j^resent  they 
have  already  two  Missions,  and  the  latter,  by  order  of  the 
King-,  is  ])laced  in  the  Cardonal.  The  Commander,  General 
Don  Afannel  Centurion,  in  order  to  facilitate  their  translation, 
and  in  consideration  of  their  poverty,  supplied  them,  at  his 
own  expense,  witli  many  iron  utensils  and  other  alms  for  the 
j)urpose  of  ])lanting  new  grounds,  in  seventeen  hundred  and 
sixty-eight.  Ijaptized,  387;  married  b}'  the  Church,  15; 
deaths,  125;  existing,  206. 

16.  Mission  of  Santa  Ana  ;  its  President,  Fatlier  Felix  de 
Tarraga. 

The  Indians  of  this  Mission  are  from  the  Aruaca  and  Gua- 
rauno  tril)es,  most  of  them  are  baptized  and  united  from  two 
Missions  of  San  Joaquin  and  San  Felix.  They  commenced  their 
transfer  by  order  of  the  King  our  Lord  at  the  beginning  of 
the  present  year,  seventeen  liundred  and  seventy.  The  Com- 
mander General,  Don  Manuel  Centurion,  in  order  to  facilitate 
their  transportation,  made  a  present  to  both  tribes  of  a  large 
amount  of  ii-on  utensils,  axes,  machetes,  and  other  articles. 
Baptized,  630;  married  by  the  Church,  18;  deaths,  250;  ex- 
isting, 446. 

17.  Mission  of  ( )iir  Lady  of  Los  Dolores  de  Puedpa  ;  its  Presi- 
dent, Fatlier  Mariano  de  Zervera. 

The  Indians  of  this  Mission  are  from  the  Aruacas  and  Chi- 
mas  tribes;  they  were  founded  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred 
and  forty-nine,  most  of  them  ran  away  the  latter  part  of  Feb- 
ruary of  the  present  year  of  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy, 
.some  have  been  recovered,  and  in  a  short  time  will  be  entered. 


267 

Before  they  ran  away  they  iiunil)ere(l  in  all  one  hundred  and 
seventy,  brouglit  from  AL)ruea,  where  two  Reverend  Fathers 
went  alter  them,  well  escorted  and  provided  with  vessels  and 
the  necessary  stores,  supplied  by  the  Commander  General, 
Don  Manuel  Centurion.  Baptized,  56  ;  married  by  the  Church, 
0  ;  deaths,  3 ;  existing,  52. 

18.  Mission  of  Santa  Rosa  de  Maruanta ;  its  President,  Father 
James  de  Puigcerda. 

The  Indians  of  this  Mission  are  from  the  Guaraunos  tribe. 
It  was  founded  by  the  above-mentioned  Commander  General, 
Don  Manuel  Centurion,  with  Guaraunos  Indians,  whom  he 
personally  went  after,  and  brought  along  with  him  to  the 
lower  Orinoco,  as  may  be  seen  in  his  letter  asking  the  Rev- 
erend Father  Prefect  to  send  one  of  the  Fathers  to  attend  to 
the  spiritual  wants  of  said  Indians,  a  fact  well-known  to  all 
the  inhabitants  of  this  city  ;  a  few  of  said  Indians  are  Ijaptized. 
It  was  founded  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty-nine, 
and  is  in  our  charge.  Baptized,  30;  married  by  the  Church, 
0  ;  deaths,  9;  existing,  286. 

19.  Mission  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  of  Pana-pana  ;  its 
President,  the  above-named  Father  Fr.  James  de  Puigcerda. 

The  Indians  of  this  Mission  are  from  the  Carib  tribe,  and  it 
was  founded  likewise  by  tl>e  same  Commander  General,  Don 
Manuel  Centurion,  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty- 
nine,  as  it  appears  by  the  letter  addressed  by  his  Honor  to  the 
Most  Reverend  Father  Prefect,  asking  for  a  Missioner  to  attend 
the  said  Indians,  and  it  is  improving  with  new  arrivals  of 
Caribs  with  embarkations,  troops,  arms,  and  stores,  and  every 
other  necessary  thing  at  the  expense  of  the  Commander  Gen- 
eral and  in  company  of  the  Reverend  President.  Baptized,  8  ; 
married  by  the  Church,  0  ;  deaths,  0  ;  existing,  97. 

20.  Mission  of  Saint  Felix  de  Topoquen,  under  Father 
Manuel  de  Preixana. 

The  Indians  of  this  Mission  are  from  the  Carib  tribe,  a  few 
are  baptized,  it  commenced  under  Father  Manuel  de  Preisana 
in  the  year  seventeen  sixty-seven.  Baptized,  56;  married  by 
the  Church,  0  ;  deaths,  5  ;  existino-,  110. 


2()8 

■Jl.  .Mi>sinn  III' the  Cuiiiana,  iiii(kr  Fatlier  lUieiui  Ventura  ile 
Santa  I'oloina. 

Tlie  Indians  of  this  Mission  are  from  the  Carib  tribe,  u  few 
are  baptized  ;  it  was  founded  in  the  year  seventeen  sevent}'- 
seven.  Bai)tized,  47;  married  l)y  the  Church,  0;  deaths,  5; 
existing,  !()(>. 

•22.  \'ina(ie  of  Upata  and  San  Antonio — all  Spaniards;  its 
l'iv.<ident.  Father  Pedro  Martin  de  Hil)as. 

This  village  was  commenced  to  be  founded  at  the  expense 
of  the  Reverend  Community,  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred 
and  sixty-two,  with  ten  Spanish  families.  Baptized,  09  ;  mar- 
ried by  the  Church,  23;  deaths,  20;  existing,  152. 

Note. — About  the  latter  part  of  last  year  the  fortress  of 
Hii)0(|ui  was  commenced  with  six  officers  and  an  officer  Cadet 
of  the  troop,  by  allowance  of  the  Commander  General,  Don 
Mnnuel  Centurion,  with  six  swivel-guns,  balls,  powder,  and 
military  armaments,  said  community  paying  for  the  provis- 
ions of  beef  and  casave  for  the  vessel.  Two  Reverend  Fathers 
were  sent  to  promote  the  success  of  said  expedition,  they 
plantcil  the  cross  and  began  the  Mission,  at  the  mouth  of  La 
Parana.  Said  Castle  of  Hipiqui  remains  as  a  constituted 
Sitanish  village  by  the  pleasure  of  His  Majesty,  and  the  ap- 
proval of  the  Commander  General,  with  some  expenses  to  the 
Reverend  community.  Said  village  is  called  Barceloneta. 
Now  it  consists  of  twelve  Spanish  families  (with  a  few  Indians) 
freely  sui)plied  with  transportation  and  other  expenses  by  the 
.same  Commander,  showing  his  earnest  desire  to  give  ample 
population  to  these  lands,  an<l  conqner  souls  for  the  Lord  and 
va.<sals  for  our  King. 

At  tlie  same  time  three  other  Missions  have  been  commenced, 
un<ler  the  names  of  Guri,  Aripuana,  on  the  banks  of  the  Caroni 
river,  and  on  the  straight  road  to  Nre  Barceloneta;  and  the 
third,  called  (rarumopati,  on  the  bank  of  the  Parana  river. 

The  Reverend  Missioners  are  no  more  nor  less  than  twenty, 
besides  the  two  above-mentioned  in  these  places. 

We  are  daily  awaiting  the  arival  from  our  Province  of  the 
eleven  Fathers  and  a   nur.se  that    we  have  requested  for  the 


269 

past  few  years,  with  the  a})proval  of  tlie  Commander  C4eiieral 
of  this  Province. 

Total  —  Baptized,  10,3GU  ;  married,  1,754;  deaths,  4,842; 
existing,  6,24G. 

The  Indians  from  the  tribes,  whose  reduction  we  are  still 
wanting,  and  that  we  discover  every  day,  are  as  follows  : 

Maceronis  Caribs,  Guaicas,  Guapisanas,  Paravaxauas,  Arivas, 
Machuacanes,  Taramas,  Gumaripas,  Paramyanas,  Tuyanas, 
Hipiiragotos,  Aturayas,  Gumixis,  Papavenas,  Camaragotos, 
Quiriquiripas,  Hiiiaus,  Cucuipcotos,  Arianas. 

In  testimony  whereof  I  give  the  present  letters  signed  by 
me  and  sealed  with  the  grand  seal  of  our  office,  countersigned 
by  our  Secretary,  in  this  Mission  of  the  Immaculate  Concep- 
tion of  Caroni,  on  the  twelfth  day  of  September,  in  the  year 
of  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy. 

Fr.  Bruno  de  Barcelona,  Prefect. 

By  order  of  the  Most  Reverend  Father  Prefect. 

Fr.  Manuel  de  Preisana. 

Secretary  to  the  Missions. 


It  agrees  with  the  original  from  which  we,  the  undersigned, 
acting  witnesses,  in  the  absence  of  a  Notary  Public,  and  by 
order  of  the  Commander  General  of  this  Province,  have  taken 
the  present  copy,  well  and  faithfully  written  and  corrected, 
and  consisting  of  six  folios,  the  first  on  a  stamped  paper  of  tlie 
fourth  class. 

In  testimony  whereof  we  sign  tl>e  present  in  Guayana,  on  the 
eleventh  day  of  November,  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy- 
three.  ; 

Miguel  Mexia — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

Miguel  de  Oleaga — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


We,  Don  Joseph  Ventura,  Pastor  of  the  Parish  Church  of 
this  city  of  Guayana,  and  Don  Andres  de  Oleaga,  Accomptant  of 
the  Royal  Treasury  of  the  same  by  His  jNIajesty,  certify  that 


270 

tilt.'  two  signatuR'S  aulhori/.iiig  the  })rece<liiig  dociimeiit  arc  the 
same  used  by  Don  Miguel  Mexia  and  Don  Miguel  de  Oleaga^ 
acting  witnesses  for  the  Tribunal  of  tlie  Coniniander  General, 
in  the  absence  of  a  Notary  Public ;  that  they  are  faitliful, 
trustworthy,  and  possess  the  conditions  re([uired  In'  the  laws  of 
this  Kingdom,  and  to  the  instruments  signed  by  them  lull  and 
entire  credit  is  given,  judicially  and  extra-judicially. 

Ill  testimony  whereof  we  sign  the  present  in  Guayana,  on  the 
elevenih  of  Xovember,  seventeen  hundred  and  seventv-three. 

Josef  Venturas — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

Andres  de  Oleaga — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


Xamljcr  5. 

Fr.  Cristobal  Lendines,  the  Apostolic  Missioner,  Attorney 
General  and  Paymaster  of  the  liol}'^  doctrines  and  of  the  Mis- 
sions of  the  Immaculate  Conce!)tion  of  Piritu,  and  new  con- 
versions of  the  Incarnation  of  ( )rinoco,  Erevato,  etc.,  and  dis- 
crete Fathers  of  the  same,  certify  for  those  to  whom  it  may 
<!oncern  that  in  time,  and  by  direction  and  request  of  Don 
Manuel  Centurion,  Lieutenant  Colonel  of  the  Royal  Army  of 
His  Majesty,  Commander  General  of  the  upper  and  lower 
(Jrinoco  and  Superintendent  of  the  branch  of  crusades  in  the 
Province  of  New  Guayana,  that  the  following  settlements 
have  been  made  and  improved  in  the  district  of  this  territory 
lately  described  by  the  agreement  entered  into  in  the  city  of 
Santo  Thome  of  the  old  Guayana,  as  folh)Ws : 

Buena  Vista. — This  settlement  by  said  Don  Manuel  Centu- 
rion with  two  hundred  souls,  more  or  less,  from  the  Guarauna 
tril)e  that  he  ordered  to  be  brought  from  the  Anegadizos 
(floodeil  places)  and  mouths  of  Orinoco. 

Santa  Icrcsa  de  OrocopicJie. — This  settlement  was  composed 
of  fifty  Indians,  Cumanagotes  and  Palcnques,  from  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Angostura  of  Orinoco,  and  has  formally  increased 
to  over  two  hundred  souls,  Alaverianos  and  Guaraunos,  that 
under  directions  and  proper  steps  of  said  Centurion  left  the 
woods  and  were  placed  in  this  settlement  where  they  are  es- 
tablished. 


271 

San  Carlos  and  San  Pedro  de  Alcantara  of  Caura. — This  set- 
tlement was  founded  by  said  Commander  General  with  one 
hundred  and  forty  souls  from  the  Vivas  and  Pandacotos  tribes,, 
under  the  direction  and  solicitude  of  the  same ;  they  were 
bruuglit  from  the  forests  of  the  high  Caura  (river)  to  live  a 
Christian  and  social  life  at  the  mouth  of  said  Caura  river  and 
the  Orinoco. 

Xiu'stro  Padre  San  Francisco  del  Tniquiri — This  settlement 
was  founded  by  said  Don  Manuel  Centurion,  with  over  two 
hundrc'd  souls  of  the  Pandacotos  tribe,  who,  under  his  direc- 
tion and  solicitude,  were  induced  to  inhabit  that  place,  as  a 
necessary  scale  (station)  to  the  navigation  of  the  Caura  river. 

San  Luis  del  Crevato. — This  settlement  was  founded  by  the 
same  gentleman,  with  over  two  hundred  souls  of  the  Pandacota 
tribe,  brought  from  the  mountains  to  inhabit  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Erevato,  wdiere  a  small  fort  was  established  with  artillery 
and  troops,  for  the  protection  of  the  Missioners  and  new  re- 
ductions of  Indians. 

San  Vicente  del  Erevato. — This  settlement  was  founded  like- 
wise by  the  same  Centurion,  with  over  two  hundred  souls  from 
the  Inaos  and  Guayucomos  tribes,  who,  at  his  soHcitude  and 
direction,  left  the  woods  and  came  to  live  on  the  banks  of  the 
Erevato,  where  there  is  a  scale  necessary  for  the  navigation 
of  said  river,  and  for  the  land  communication  with  the  high 
Orinoco. 

The  Tinniacukde  Conception  of  Caura. — This  settlement  was 
founded  by  said  Commander  General  with  over  two  hundred 
souls  of  the  Paravenas  tribe,  that  he  induced  to  quit  the  woods 
and  reside  at  the  margin  of  Caura,  opposite  the  mouths  of  the 
Erevato  river,  and  is  a  necessary  scale  for  tl^e  communication 
of  all  these  settlements  with  the  capital  of  Guayana. 

San  Rafael  de  Guaipa. — This  settlement  was  likewise  founded 
by  the  said  Centurion,  with  one  hundred  and  nine  souls  from 
the  Quiriquiripas  tribe,  who,  at  his  solicitation,  left  the  forest 
to  inhabit  at  the  said  place,  a  point  of  scale  for  the  land  trav- 
ellers of  the  capital  of  Erevato,  where  a  road  has  been  opened 
and  continues  under  the  orders  of  the  same  Centurion  until  it 
reaches  the  Esmeralda  on  the  high  Orinoco. 


272 

We  likewist.'  fcilit'v  tliat  licsi'lcs  tlie  al)()ve  settlements  in  tlie 
distrii-t  and  ti'i-ritory  mentioned,  nnder  tlie  support,  direction, 
and  solicitude  of  said  Don  Manuel  Centurion,  the  village  of 
liorbon  by  Don  Josef  Francisco  de  Espinosa,  with  thirty  Creole 
Spanish  families  and  a  few  Indians,  have  been  improved  and 
helped,  that  of  the  city  of  the  Real  Corona  with  Spaniards,  the 
settlement  of  Tapaquiri  and  Mono  mountain  with  Indians  vol- 
untarily established  within  the  jurisdiction  and  government 
of  said  Centurion  ;  that  lie  has  besides  rendered  assistance  to 
the  Prelate  with  vessels  and  men  whenever  he  has  requested 
them  for  the  ordinary  visits,  and  to  meet  the  wants  of  many 
Missionaries  whose  health  and  expenses  were  not  possible  on  the 
part  of  the  holy  community,  on  account  of  the  notorious  pov- 
erty of  the  Kevercn<l  Fathers,  who  have  accompanied  the  ex- 
pedition, and  the  visits  made  and  intended  to  the  Erevato 
river  and  the  Parime  lake  or  El  Dorado,  soliciting  at  the  same 
time  the  means  of  rendering  the  spiritual  comforts  to  the  vas- 
sals of  His  Majesty  residing  at  the  high  ( )rinoco  and  Kio  Negro, 
destitute  and  abandoned  by  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel.  For 
this  purpose  and  the  comfort  of  the  troop  guarding  the  fort  of 
our  Father  San  Francisco  in  the  old  (Juyana,  lie  applied  and 
prayed  this  holy  community  to  assign,  as  indeed  it  was  done, 
the  necessary  Missionaries  to  take  care  of  their  consciences  and 
do  their  duty,  in  regard  to  the  annual  precepts  of  our  Holy 
Mother  Church,  witli  evei'ything  conducive  to  their  spiritual 
comfort. 

In  testimony  whereof  we  give  the  })resent  certificate,  signed 
an<l  sealed  with  the  grand  seal  of  this  holy  community,  in  the 
city  of  Real  Corona,  on  the  twentieth  day  of  August,  in  the 
year  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-three. 

Fr,  Cristobal  Lexdinks, 

Apostolic  Commissioner. 

Fr.  Francisco  Sanz,  Discrete. 

Fr.  Miguel  Gutierez,  Discrete. 

Fr.  Gregorio  Marze,  Discrete. 

Fr.  Josef  Arau.to  and 

Feijoo,  Discrete — [here  is  a  seal]. 


273 

It  agrees  with  its  original,  from  which  tlic  undersigned 
acting  witnesses,  for  want  of  a  Notary  Public,  in  virtue  of  a 
verbal  order  of.  his  Honor,  the  Commander  General  of  this 
Province,  have  drawn  this  copy,  well  and  faithfully  written 
and  corrected,  in  three  folios,  the  first  of  them  on  stamped 
pai)er  of  the  fourth  class  ;  and  we  sign  the  present  certificate  in. 
Guayana,  on  the  eleventh  of  November,  seventeen  hundred 
and  seventy-three. 

Miguel  AIexia — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

Miguel  de  Oleaga — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


We,  Don  Josef  Ventura,  Pastor  of  the  Parish  Church  of  this 
city  of  Guayana,  and  Don  Andres  de  Oleaga,  Accomptant  of 
the  Royal  Treasury  of  the  same  lor  His  Majesty,  certify  that 
the  two  foregoing  signatures,  authenticating  the  preceding 
document,  are  the  same  used  by  Don  Miguel  Mexia  and  Don 
Miguel  de  Oleaga,  acting  witnesses,  lor  want  of  a  Notary  Public 
in  the  Tribunal  of  the  Commander  General;  they  are  faithful, 
trustworthy,  and  qualified  according  to  the  laws  of  these  King- 
doms, and  that  all  the  instruments  executed  before  them  are 
given  full  faith  and  credit,  judicially  and  extra-judicially. 

In  testimony  whereof  we  sign  the  j^resent  in  Guayana,  on 
the  eleventh  of  November,  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy- 
three. 

Josef  Ventura — [here  is  a  flourish]. 
Andres  de  Oleaga — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


Number  6. 

Certificate  which,  at  the  request  of  the  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Don  Manuel  Centurion  Guerrero  y  Torres,  Governor  of  the 
Province  of  Guayana,  and  Commander  General  of  Orinoco, 
Rio  Negro,  and  annexes,  is  given  by  the  Reverend  Capuchin 
Father  Missioners,  Fr.  Josef  Antonio  de  Xerez  de  los  Caba- 
leros  and  Fr.  Miguel  de  Nerja,  the  former  Prefect  of  the 
new  Missions  of  the  high  Orinoco  and  Rio  Negro,  and  the 
latter  accompanying  Justice  of  the  said  Missions,  both  sons 
of  the  Capuchin  Province  of  Andalusia. 

Vol.  II.  Ven.— 18 


274 

8iii:  lu  your  previous  (I'avorj  yuui"  J'^xculleiicv  dirct'ts  us  to 
give  the  present  certificate  of  your  acts  in  these  I'roviuct's  in 
your  charge,  during  your  Goverimicnt  time,  commencing  on 
the  25th  of  December,  seventeen  liuiuh'i'd  and  sixty-six,  up  to 
tlie  present  time.  And  understandini;-  the  motive  stimuhiting 
your  Honor,  less  glorious  if  you  siiould  not  have  any  livnls, 
witliout  which  Themistocles  said  that  there  was  no  glorious 
deed.  If  our  opinion,  being  from  persons  fiivored  by  and  at- 
tached to  your  Honor  were  not  to  be  underi'ated  we  should 
say,  as  our  Lord  and  Divine  INhister  told  Saint  Thomas,  '*  (^ula 
vidisti  credidiMi'^  (because  you  saw,  you  did  believe). 

We  have  seen  and,  thei'efore,  we  have  to  believe  and  demon- 
strate not  with  timidity,  what  your  He  nor  has  founded,  re-edi- 
fied, and  augmented  with  the  hght  of  mid-day.  We  should 
ask — What  comparison  is  possible  between  what  the  Ori- 
noco is  to-day,  to  whomsoever  did  not  see  the  condition  in 
which  it  was  found  by  the  Royal  expedition  of  l)oundaries? 
What  was  founded,  discovered,  and  woi-ked  l»y  tlieKoyal  (_'om- 
niissionei's?  What  was  improved  l)y  Don  Joacjuin  Moreno,  the 
predecessor  of  your  Honor?  And,  finally,  what  has  been  added 
to  all  of  that  by  your  Honor  with  your  imponderable  ett'ort. 
Work  and  excessive  patience?  Jjct  us  com{)are  one  and  the 
other,  and  we  will  hear  the  opinion  of  the  zealous   ministers. 

Our  conviction  is  that  3'our  Honor  lias  done  and  accom- 
plished in  Orinoco  wiiat  you  ought  to  do,  and  that  we  will 
relate,  certifying  the  same  sincerely,  without  comparing  what 
lias  been  done  by  the  other  persons  with  what  your  Honor 
has  founded,  re-edified,  and  augmented  in  the  time  of  your 
government.  That  is  not  our  purp()se,Mior  what  your  Honor 
desires. 

In  the  first  {)lace  your  Honor  lias  improved  the  capital  of 
NewOuayana  so  well,  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  believe 
it,  ii  we  would  not  see  it,  on  account  of  the  general  scarcity  of 
materials  in  this  territory  and  the  want  of  mechanics,  now 
more  than  ever  felt,  as  your  Honor  having  all  the  necessary 
materials  to  finish  the  fine  Church,  that  is  on  the  way  of  con- 
si  ruction,  has  to  wait  in  order  to  finish  it,  for  those  expected 
from  Sjiaiii   bv  the  first  arrival.     A  larae  number  of  houses 


275 

have  been  built,  amongst  them  some  for  schools  and  the  in- 
struction of  our  youth,  m  one  of  the  best  places  of  the  city, 
and  I  doubt  whether  the  city  of  Caracas  has  any  better.  Your 
Honor  has  paved  all  the  ground  necessary  for  said  building,  at 
the  expense  of  a  great  deal  of  labor,  on  account  of  its  being 
nearly  all  solid  rock.  I  do  not  doubt  that  a  plan  has  been 
already  made,  showing  all  the  houses  covered  with  tiles  exist- 
ing to-day,  when  your  Honor  found  only  about  eight  small 
houses,  and  the  rest  being  straw-roofed  huts ;  this  last  kind  of 
material  has  been  already  eliminated  from  the  interior  of  the 
city. 

Whoever  did  not  see  the  Angostura  or  New  Guayana  as 
your  Honor  received  it,  can  not  form  an  idea  of  the  impulse 
given  by  your  Honor,  in  improving  and  beautifying  the  same. 
Your  Honor  has  aggregated  to  this  city  and  its  suburbs  four 
settlements,  like  villages,  and  as  many  Missions  as  your  Honor 
has  founded.  One  of  them,  the  Maruanta  settlement,  with 
over  six  hundred  souls  from  the  Guarauna  tribe  and  Spanisli 
neighbors,  at  two  leagues  from  the  capital;  another  is  called 
Orocopiche,  increased  with  Indians  of  the  same  tribe  and 
Cumanagotos,  being  besides  under  an  Alderman;  your  Honor 
found  this  one  when  it  was  beginning  with  very  few  Cumana- 
gota  families.  This  settlement  is  at  a  distance  of  one  league 
and  a  half  from  the  capital. 

Besides  the  settlement  of  Buena  Vista,  which  your  Honor 
has  founded,  with  over  three  hundred  Guaraunas,  at  one  league 
distance  from  Guayana,  another  settlement,  Panapana,  with 
one  hundred  and  eighty  Caribs  and  a  few  Spanish  settlers,  has 
been  likewise  founded  by  your  Honor,  distant  four  leagues 
from  the  city,  being  under  my  spiritual  administration  as  well 
as  that  of  Maruanta. 

These  four  Missions  are  very  serviceable  to  the  capital  of 
Guayana,  affording  it  facilities  for  laborers  and  eatables,  just 
the  i)urpose  your  Honor  had  in  contemplation,  when  found- 
ing the  village  of  Borbon,  already  with  over  thirty  Spanish 
families,  with  their  Chaplain  settler  and  a  temporary  Parson, 
who  is  my  companion  and  brother,  Reverend  Father  Fr.  Mi- 
guel de  Xerja. 


276 

Besides,  your  lldiior  li.is  IniiiKlcil  the  vilhiyc  of  ('arolinn^ 
with  a  less  number  of  I'aniilies,  administered  by  one  of  the 
Reverend  Missioners  of  the  (Franciscan  Order)  Reguhir  Ob- 
sei-vants.  Moreover,  the  village  of  Barceloneta  and  that  of  La 
I'aragua,  servc-d  by  tlu'  Reverend  Catalan  Capudiin  F<;thers,. 
Mhere  they  have  a  fort  with  troop  and  the  necessary  ammu- 
nition furnished  by  your  Honor  lor  its  defence.  The  village 
of  Caicara,  newly  founded  by  Don  Pedro  Bolivar,  o|)|)Osite 
Cabruta,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Orinoco,  and  aggregated  to 
the  Mission  of  Pan  de  Azucar,  likewise  founded  liy  your  Plonor 
with  Indians  from  the  Maipure  tribe.  Said  villag(.s  and  Mis- 
sions your  Honor  has  entrusted  to  the  care  of  the  Reverend 
Father  Observants,  with  those  of  Borbon,  la  Carolina,  Caicara, 
that  of  Ciudad  Real  Corona,  greatly  increased  in  }»opulation, 
houses  and  cattle. 

A  Lieutenant  has  been  placed  in  charge  of  the  Missions  of 
Buena  Vista,  (_)roco[)iche,  San  Carlos  de  Caura,  Taiia(piiri  and 
Cerro  del  Mono  or  Mono  mountain,  all  founded  by  your 
Honor,  and  the  five  settlements  of  the  Crevato  aiul  Iniqniari 
rivers,  placed  by  your  Honor  under  the  Reverend  Observant 
Fatheis,  founded  and  populated  with  over  two  thousand  souls, 
supitlie(l  by  your  Honi^r  with  troops,  ammunitions  and  gifts- 
ior  the  conquest,  I  suppose  that,  better  tliaii  ourselves,  the 
Reverend  Fathers  wnll  attest  to  the  facts. 

To  the  Reverend  Catalan  Fathers  your  Ilonoi'  has  entrusted 
the  care  of  the  village  of  Barceloneta,  with  its  fortress,  etc.,  tin; 
?vlissi()n  of  Maruanta  and  of  Pana-pana,  above  mentiontd.  Said 
Reverend  Fathers  have  j)laced  in  each  of  these  settlements  one 
Reverend  Fatlicr,  whom  they  have  to  withdraw  on  account  of 
the  scarcity  rif  pastors,  leaving  one  in  Barceloneta,  furnishing 
tliem  hel|)  with  cattle  and  utensils.  Your  Hvjnor  has  aug- 
mente(l  tlu;  village  of  Upata,  already  im])roved,  and  placed  in 
positi»»n  U)  supply  the  Province  and  Cajiital  of  Cuayana  with 
j»roducts,  and  inhabitants  likewise.  The  other  jNIissions  have 
been  increased  with  several  inhabitant^,  manying  Indian 
women  of  said  Missions,  and  the  Fathers  have  attended  to  the 
Christian  instruction  of  tlie  natives. 

Your   Honor  has   furnished    them    with   all    necessary  sup- 


277 

plies  as  well  as  the  other  tribes,  if  no  better,  as  insinuated 
by  the  Reverend  Father  Prefect,  Fr.  Bruno  de  Barcelona,  in 
his  letter  to  the  Reverend  Father  Paymaster  General,  dated  in 
Caroni,  on  the  seventeenth  of  September,  seventeen  hundred 
and  sevent}^ ;  and  we  refer  to  the  said  letter  in  support  of  our 
statement,  where  he  has  higlily  praised  the  conduct  of  yc^ur 
Honor  for  his  favors  and  support.  In  confirmation  of  all  the 
above  facts  we  may  refer  to  the  state  of  the  Missions  presented 
to  your  Honor  by  the  Reverend  Prefect  after  liis  visit.  We 
have  referred  to  wdiat  has  been  founded  on  the  lower  Orinoco. 

As  to  the  improvements  carried  out  by  your  Honor  in  Rio 
Negro,  we  will  add  the  village  of  La  Esmeralda,  to  which 
your  Honor  sent  the  Captain  Settler,  Don  Apolinario  Diez  de 
la  Fuente,  with  all  the  ftimilies  who  have  already  settled  there, 
under  the  protection  of  the  troop,  and  all  the  other  necessaries 
for  that  foundation,  having  cows  and  cattle  sent  b}^  water  with 
great  difficulty  and  expense.  A  sugar-cane  mill  has  been 
established  and  the  necessary  farms  for  the  convenience  and 
comforts  of  the  inhabitants.  To  this  village  your  Honor  has 
■aggregated  and  founded  the  following  Missions  on  the  Orinoco 
river:  Santa  Barbara,  San  Antonio,  on  the  mouth  of  the  Tua- 
mini  creek,  and  Santa  Clara,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sama  creek. 

Your  Honor  has  settled  Indians  in  the  old  sites  already  de- 
stroyed, of  San  Fernando  on  the  Rio  Negro,  San  Francisco 
Solano,  San  Miguel  at  the  mouth  of  the  Pimichini,  San  Gabriel 
de  Guenia  or  R.io  Negro,  on  the  Padamo  river,  Santa  Gertrudes, 
San  Felix.  Your  Honor  has  added  likewise  (what  in  our 
opinion  is  as  much  work  as  the  rest  already  told)  t\venty  set- 
tlements of  several  tribes  reduced  b}^  Captain-elect  Don  Antonio 
Barreto,  at  a  middle  distance  between  said  village  and  the 
Crevato  river,  a  work  of  extreme  difficulty  as  well  as  of  extreme 
glory  to  your  Honor,  having  been  the  first,  and  perhaps  the 
only  one  of  our  Spaniards,  who  has  founded  and  oj^ened  similar 
laborious  road,  as  difficult  as  I  am  sure  it  has  been  for  others, 
wanting  the  pacification,  friendship,  and  union  of  the  different 
tribes  spread  around  there. 

Your  Honor  has  succeeded  in  the  settlement  of  peaceful 
Indians  already  reduced  and  under  one  soldier,  each  Post,  fur- 


278 

ni.-:liiii_U'  supplios  ami  help  to  said  natives  and  to  tlie  inhabit- 
ants hy  means  of  the  new  road  opened  to  the  extent  of  over 
three  hnnch'cd  leagues  from  the  EsmerahLa  to  the  capital  of 
Guayana,  counting  already  over  seven  hundred  Indians  in 
some  t)f  the  above-mentioned  twenty  settlements,  confirming 
the  truth  of  Avhat  I  heard  some  time  before  from  the  Chief  of 
squadron  Don  Joseph  de  Tturriaga  (whom  as  well  as  the  other 
Chiefs  of  the  Royal  exj)editi()n  of  boundaries  I  have  tlie  honor 
to  accompany  and  serve,  during  their  permanence  in  Orinoco, 
where  I  have  served  for  sixteen  years,  and  in  the  Province  of 
A^enezuela  and  in  Caracas  for  ten,  making  in  all  twenty-six 
years  that  I  have  served  in  the  ministration  of  the  Holy  Gospel 
as  Missionary  in  these  Provinces). 

Seiior  Iturriaga  said  that  only  the  Esmeralda  and  ( Juayana 
were  to  have  land  communication,  as  your  Honor  has  made  it 
true,  and  that  he  could  not  do,  considering  tlie  immense  work 
necessary. 

Here  is  the  end  of  what  we  can  demonstrate,  as  we  have 
seen  what  your  Honor  has  accomplished  and  what  your  gov- 
ernment has  improved  and  reformed,  but  we  can  never  suffi- 
ciently })raise  your  Honor  and  applaud  your  zeal,  efficiency, 
and  good  conduct — quia  magnonmi  non  est,  laus  sed  adiiilratio 
dixo  doda,  as  the  prince  of  philosophers  said. 

In  testimony  whereof,  and  for  whom  it  may  concern,  we 
sign  tiio  present  at  Maruanta  on  the  fifteenth  of  December, 
seventeen  hundred  and  seventv-two. 

May  your  Honor  pros})er  for  many  years  and  the  Lord  pro- 
tect your  valuable  life  are  the  vows  of  your  obedient  and  loving 
servants  and  Cha])lains. 

Fr.  Josef  Antonio  dk  Xkkez. 
Fr.  Miguel  de  Nerja. 


It  agrees  with  the  original,  from  where  the  undersigned,  act- 
ing witnesses,  for  want  of  a  Notary  Public,  and  in  virtue  of  a 
verbal  order  of  His  Honor,  the  Commander  General  of  this 
Pn.-vincc  of  (Juavana,    has    been    taken   well    and    faithlullv. 


279 

written  and  corrected,  in  six  folios,  the  first  of  which  is  on 
stamped  paper  of  the  fourtli  cUiss. 

In  testimony  whereof  we  sign  the  present  in  Guayana,  on  the 
eleventh  of  November,  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-three. 
Miguel  Mexia — [here  is  a  flourish]. 
Miguel  Oleaga — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


We,  Don  Josef  Ventura,  Pastor  of  the  Parish  Church  of  this 
City  of  Guayana,  and  Don  Andres  de  Oleaga,  Accoraptant 
of  the  Royal  Treasury  of  His  Majesty,  certify  that  the  two 
signatures  authorizing  the  preceding  document  are  the  same 
used  by  Don  Miguel  Mexia  and  Don  Miguel  de  Oleaga, 
witnesses  with  whom,  for  want  of  a  Notary  Public,  the  Tri- 
bunal of  the  Commander  General  is  acting  ;  that  they  are 
faithful,  trustworthy,  and  qualified,  according  to  the  laws  of 
these  Kingdoms,  and  therefore  to  all  the  instruments  signed 
by  them  full  faith  and  credit  is  given  judicially  and  extra- 
judicially. 

In  testimony  whereof  we  sign  the  present  certificate  in  Guay- 
ana, on  the  eleventh  of  November  of  seventeen  hundred  and 
seventy-three. 

•Josef  Ventura — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

Andres  de  Oleaga — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


Number  7 — [ Copij]. 

Bv  direction  of  the  Governor  and  Captain  General  of  Ven- 
ezuela, Don  Josef  Solano,  I  have  received  the  representation 
addressed  by  your  Honor,  on  the  thirtieth  of  last  January, 
reporting  the  first  results  of  the  expedition  sent,  in  the  year  of 
seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-two,  in  charge  of  Don  Apolinar 
Diez  de  la  Fuente,  and  the  supplies  and  the  other  measures 
taken  by  your  Honor  to  facilitate  the  accomplishment  of  this 
project,  I  have  brought  the  subject  to  the  notice  of  His  Ma- 
jesty, informing  him  of  the  progress  of  the  same  officer,  who 


280 

does  not  seem  to  fall  short  of  liis  proiaises,  and  that  it  is  de- 
siraMe  to  encourage  the  aeeonij»lishim'nt  i»i"  his  coiiiinissioii  ])y 
all  possible  means. 

The  King  has  decided  to  instruct  Don  Josef  Solano  to  do  on 
his  part,  in  accordance  with  youi-  Honor,  wiiat  may  be  found 
proper  to  carry  out  the  settlement  of  La  E-meralda  and  the 
bi'eeding  of  cattle  that  your  Honor  proposes  as  necessary  lor 
the  subsistence  of  those  inhabitants. 

His  Majesty  finds  praisewoilhy  the  zeal  and  measures  of 
your  Honor  on  this  subject,  and  expects  that  you  will  continue 
with  tlic  same  activity  and  will  encijuragc  the  above-men- 
tioned Don  Apolinar  and  the  Lieutenant  Don  Francisco  Fer- 
nandez BobadiUa  and  the  Prelect  of  the  Missions  to  j)roceed, 
in  accord  and  in  good  spirits,  to  the  realization  of  that  impor- 
tant measure. 

In  order  to  render  hi?  assistance,  especially  to  the  founda- 
tion and  establishment  of  the  cattle  farm,  His  Majesty  has 
decided  to  furnish  from  the  Treasury  of  Cumana  six  thousand 
dollars  for  once,  in  consideration  of  what  your  Honor  [)roposes 
as  necessar}-.  On  this  same  date  the  corresj)onding  order  has 
been  addressed  to  the  Governor  and  Royal  officers  of  that  city, 
placing  said  sum  tp  the  order  of  Don  Josef  Solano,  so  that  he 
may  collect  it  and  send  it  to  that  Province. 

His  Majesty  will  be  informed  of  the  result  of  the  cocoa 
samples  already  received,  as  an  experiment,  an<l  tlie  stones 
sent  to  your  Honor  by  Don  Apolinar,  so  as  try  the  first  essay. 

May  the  Lord  keej)  your  life  for  many  years. 

San  Ildefonso,  October  the  fifth,  seventeen  hundred  and 
sixty-eight. 

The  IJaiiiir.  Vu.  Dox  Julian  de  xVkkiaga. 

Senor  Don  Manuel  Centurion. 


It    is   a   co|»y  of  the   original    Koyal    order,  existing   at  the 
Areliives  of  the  Comman<ler  General  of  ( )rinoco  and  (Tuayana. 
J  certify  to  the  fact. 
City  of  Guayana,  November  llth,  1773. 

Feancisco  de  Ama>tkgui, 

Secretary — [heiv  is  a  flourish]. 


281 


Certificate  of  the  Royal  Accoinptant  of  the  Treasury. 

Ninuber  8. 

Don  Andres  de  Oleaga,  Accomptant  of  tlie  Royal  Treasury 
of  tliis  City  and  Province  of  Guayana  for  His  Majesty,  certify 
in  due  form  that  Don  Manuel  Centurion  Guerrero  de  Torres, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  Royal  Army  of  His  Majesty,  Gov- 
ernor and  Commander  General  of  this  Province,  has  paid  for 
the  foundation  of  the  vilhige  and  cattle  estate  of  Esmerakla, 
on  tlie  upper  Orinoco,  and  lias  besides  commenced  twenty  In- 
dian settlements  on  the  straight  road  from  said  vilLige  to  this 
capital,  to  avoid  the  long  turn  of  the  river,  and  secure  the 
l^ossession  of  the  land  and  the  reduction  of  the  wild  Indians 
si>read  throughout  that  territory,  at  a  cost  of  six  thousand 
dollars,  furnished  by  His  Majesty's  orders  on  the  Cumana 
Treasury,  for  that  purpose,  and  besides  five  thousand  four 
hundred  and  eighty -three  dollars,  five  reals  and  two  and  three- 
quarter  maravedis,  paid  by  the  Treasury  of  my  charge,  out  of 
the  forty  thousand  dollars  (rather  more  than  less),  that  has  been 
received  by  the  Royal  Treasury,  since  the  time  of  my  man- 
agement to  the  present  date.  From  that  amount  the  cost  of 
the  ex[tedition  undertaken  to  reach  the  Parime  has  been  paid. 

And  besides  what  has  been  mentioned  in  this  certificate  I 
have  to  add  that  said  Governor  and  Commander  General  has 
founded,  without  any  cost  to  the  Royal  Treasury  in  his  time, 
eighteen  settlements,  of  which  six  are  called  Sama,  Santa 
Barbara,  Tuamini,  San  Gabriel,  San  Francisco  Solano,  and 
Santa  Gertrudes,  and  in  the  territory  of  the  high  Orinoco  and 
Rio  Xegro  ;  those  named  Barceloneta,  Maruanta,  and  Pana- 
nana,  within  the  Mission  of  the  Catalan  Capuchin  Fathers  ; 
Buena  Vista,  Orocopiche,  Guaipa,  La  Concej^tion,  San  Luis, 
San  Vicente,  San  Francisco  and  San  Carlos,  under  the  Fran- 
•ciscan  Observant  Father  Missionaries  of  Orinoco,  and  the 
village  of  Caicara,  which  was  before  under  the  Jesuits. 

These  important  establishments  he  has  secured,  out  of  the 
taxes  and  revenues  belonging  to  his  Honor  as  Governor, 
through  his  constant  diligence  and  labor  to  secure  the  greatest 
im{)rovement  of  this  extensive  Province. 


282 

At  till'  verbal  rcqiu'st  of  said  (iovcnior  I  gave  the  present^ 
in  this  Royal  Treasury  of  the  City  of  (Juayana,  on  the  eleventh 
(lay  of  November,  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-three. 

It  agrees  with  the  original  from  where  we,  the  undersigned 
acting  witnesses,  in  the  absence  of  a  Notary  Public  and  by  the 
Verbal  oilier  of  his  Honor,  the  Commander  (ieneral  of  this 
Province  of  Guayana,  drew  this  copy,  well  and  faithlully 
written  and  corrected,  in  two  folios  of  stamped  pa})er  of  the 
fourth  chiss. 

In  testimony  whereof  we  give  and  sign  the  present,  in  Guay- 
ana, on  the   twelfth    of  November,  seventeen  hundred   and 

seventy-three. 

Miguel  Mexia — [here  is  a  flourish]. 
Miguel  de  Oleaga — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


We,  Don  Josef  Ventura,  Pastor  of  the  Parish  Church  of  this 
city  of  Guayana,  and  Don  Josef  Bassi,  Captain  of  Infantry  and 
Sergeant  Major  ad  interim  of  this  Garrison,  certify  that  the 
two  signatures  authorizing  the  foregoing  document  are  the 
same  used  by  Don  Miguel  Mexia  and  Don  Miguel  de  Oleaga,. 
acting  witnesses  of  the  Tribunal  of  this  Commander  General,, 
both  faithful,  tru.stworthy,  and  well  (jualitied,  according  to  the 
laws  of  this  Kingdom,  and  therefore  to  all  the  instruments  in 
which  they  act  full  faith  and  credit  is  given,  judicially  and 
extra-judicially. 

Ill  testimony  whereof  we  sign  the  present,  in  Guayana,  on 
the  twelfth  day  of  November,  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy- 
three. 

Josef  Ventura — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

Josef  Bassi — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


AiLiiihcr  0 — [ ^''7'//]. 
The  King  has  kindh' a}>pointed  your  Honor  to  succeed  Don 
Joachin  Moreno  in  the  Command  pro  tempore  of  the  Province 
of  Guayana,  as  sliown  by  the  Royal  despatch  that  will  be  de- 


283 

livered  to  you  by  the  Governor  of  Caracas,  Don  Josef  Solano, 
to  whom  it  is  addressed  on  this  occasion.  I  inform  your 
Honor,  for  your  knowledge  of  the  fact,  so  that  after  complying 
with  the  requisites  mentioned  in  said  despatch  you  will  depart 
and  take  possession  of  the  said  command,  under  the  under- 
standing that  the  Viceroy  of  Santa  Fe  has  been  advised  of  this 
resolution  in  order  to  furnish  you  with  the  necessary  assistance. 

Don  Joaquin  Moreno  has  been  instructed  to  deliver  the 
command  to  yon,  on  your  presentation  with  the  corresponding 
despatches,  and  he  will  hand  you  the  orders  and  instructions 
given  to  him,  in  regard  to  the  establishment  of  that  Province, 
its  fortifications,  organization  of  the  troops,  and  the  other 
affairs  concerning  the  same. 

With  the  knowledge  of  the  same,  and  under  the  directions 
of  the  Governor  of  Caracas,  your  Honor  may  take  due  steps 
for  the  continuation  and  accomplishment  of  the  Royal  inten- 
tions of  His  Majesty,  which  have  been  communicated  to  you 
expecting  tliat  you  will  give  proof  of  your  zeal  and  activity. 

May  the  Lord  keej)  your  Honor  for  many  years. 

Aranjuez,  May  the  1st,  1766. 

The  Bailiff,  Fr.  Dox  Julian  de  Arriaga. 

Seiior  Don  Manuel  Centurion. 


It  is  a  copy  of  the  original  Ro3'al  order,   existing  in  the 
Archives  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Commander  General  of  Ori- 
noco and  Guayana,  of  which  I  certify. 
City  of  Guayana,  November  11,  1773. 

Francisco  de  Amantegui, 

Secretary — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


ICopy.] 
It  is  very  satisfactory  to  me  to  go  to  that  Province  and 
reduce  the  numberless  gentile  Indians  spread  throughout  its 
forest,  as  I  have  advised  your  Honor,  and  I  do  so  in  my  own 
handwriting,  praising  the  indefatigable  zeal  of  your  Honor 
and  good  conduct  in  carrying  out  this  enterprise. 


284 

Mav  the  Lord  keep  ^'<<ur  Honor's  life  for  many  years. 
Caracas,    December    tlic    third,    seventeen    huiKh'ed    and 

seventy. 

Don  Joseph  .Solano. 

To  the  ( 'onnnan(h-i'  (icner.il  of  the  Province  of  (niayana. 


It  is  a  eopv  of  tlie  original   existing  in    the_  Arcliives  of  the 
<'oinnian(h'r  (Jeneral  of  Orinoco  and  Gnayana,  to  whieh  I  refer. 
City  of  Guayana,  on  the  eU?venth  of  November,  seventeen 
hnndred  and  seventy-three. 

Francisco  Amantegui, 

Secretary — [here  is  a  flourish.] 


With  great  pleasure  I  have  receive<l  the  statement  of  the 
population  of  that  Province,  with  the  expression  of  the  increase 
of  the  same  since  the  year  seventeen  iiundred  and  sixty-four, 
in  which  the  old  Guayana  was  transferred  to  the  present  site 
of  la  Angostura,  up  to  the  seventy;  because  I  fully  discover 
your  indefatigable  zeal  and  good  conduct,  worthy  of  the  recog- 
nition of  the. King,  and  of  his  Royal  trust  for  other  important 
charges  of  the  Koyal  service. 

May  the  Lord  keep  your  Honor's  life  for  many  years. 

Caracas,  the  thirty-fii'st  of  January,  of  seventeen   hundred 
and  seventy-one. 

Don  Josef  Solano. 

Scfioi-  1  )oii   M;inuel  ( '•■nturion. 


It  is  a  cojiy  of  tlie  original  in  the  Archives  of  the  Secretary 
of  tlie  Commander  General  of  Orinoco  and  Guayana.  of  which 
I  certify. 

City  of  Guayana,  on  the  11th  of  November,  of  1773. 

Francisco  de  Amantegui, 

Secretary — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


285 
[Copy.] 

In  Caracas,  on  the  first  of  Feljruary  of  seventeen  liundrefF 
and  seventy-one — 

My  Esteemed  Friend  and  Sir  :  I  have  received  your 
Honor's  two  favors  of  the  twenty-seventh  of  Xovemher,  and  of 
the  thirty-first  of  December  and  thirteenth  of  January,  with  the 
ofiicial  despatelies,  accompanying  the  same,  the  statement  of 
the  pojiuhition  of  that  Province,  and  that  of  the  review  of  the 
troops,  fortifications  and  stores,  but  I  can  not  reply  to  any  more 
than  what  comes  at  once.  I  will  support  not  only  that  new 
Province,  but  likewise  its  active  and  zealous  founder,  and 
everywhere  I  will  be  an  efficient  agent  of  your  Honor,  as  pos- 
sessing the  best  and  fundamental  principles  of  humanity  and 
Christian  policy.  I  have  supported  your  Honor  with  the  ex- 
perience I  liave,  and  to-day  we  have  the  satisfaction  to  see  the 
progress  effected  in  the  population  and  reduction  of  the  Indians 
to  my  great  jdeasure,  although  regretting  to  observe  how  much 
more  would  have  been  accomplished  it  this  great  and  useful 
work  had  not  met  with  so  many  obstacles  and  the  conten- 
tion of  so  many  powerful  rivals,  besides  the  scarcity  of  means. 
I  am  glad  ot  the  good  effect  of  my  ideas,  and  still  more  so  of 
the  useful  application  3'ou  have  given  them  for  the  benefit  of 
the  state  and  welfare  of  those  vassals. 

I  repeat  to  your  Honor  my  true  and  sincere  friendship,  with 
my  desire  to  see  you  soon  rewarded  and  well  attended,  and 
that  you  bear  in  mind  that  I  am  and  will  be  fully  yours. 

Solano. 

Seizor  Don  Manuel  Centurion. 


It  is  a  co{)y  from  its  original  existing  in  the  hands  of  the 
Commander  General  and  Governor  of  this  Province,  to  which 
I  refer. 

City  of  Guayana,  on  the  eleventh  day  of  November,  seven- 
teen hundred  and  seventy-three. 

Francisco  de  Amantegui, 

Secretary — [here  is  a  fiourish]. 


286 

1  luive  examiii('(l  the  stateincnt  of  tlie  p()])ulati(Mi  of  tliat 
Province,  enclosed  in  your  letter  of  the  thirty-tirst  of  Decem- 
l,)er  of  1769,  and  I  see  and  understand  the  ini})rovements  of 
that  country  up  to  that  date,  which  1  have  no  doubt  your 
Honor  will  endeavor  to  continue  in  future,  as  becomes  your 
zeal  for  the  service  of  the  King. 

May  the  Lord  keep  your  Honor's  life  for  many  years. 

Santa  Fe,  February  the  23d,  1771. 

The  Bailiff,  Fr.  Don  Pedro  Mesia  de  la  Cerda. 

►Sefior  Don  jNIanuel  Centurion. 


It  is  a  copy  from  the  original  in  the  Archives  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Commander  General  of  Orinoco  and  Guayana,  to 
wliich  I  refer. 

City  of  Guayana,  November  11th,  1773. 

Francisco  de  Amantegui,  Secretarv. 


[Copy.'] 

By  the  plan  and  copies  that  your  Honor  encloses  in  the  let- 
ter of  the  third  of  November  last,  I  have  understood  more 
clearly  the  state  of  that  Province  ot  Guayana  and  the  progress 
of  its  Missions,  the  situation  of  the  Hollanders,  French,  and 
Portuguese  surrounding  it,  and  the  news  that  had  lately  been 
acquired  of  the  entrance  of  these  parties  into  the  Parime 
lake,  i'ar  in  the  interior  of  our  dominions.  This  boldness  it  is 
indispensable  to  stop,  and  your  Honor  will  keep  on  tlie  look- 
out for  this  purpose,  in)proving  all  the  necessary  means,  with- 
out excluding  force,  that  you  will  find  available,  under  the 
understanding  that  T  can  not  at  present  concur  with  any  money, 
which  will  be  the  chief  thing  that  your  Honor  may  want  to 
take  his  steps.  In  another  letter  of  tiiis  date  I  have  expressed 
the  same  thing  to  your  Honor,  whom  may  the  Lord  kee]i  under 
his  guard  for  many  years. 

Santa  Fe,  Maich  the  seventh,  seventeen  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-one. 

The  Bailitr,  Fr,  1  )ox  Pedro  ^L-:sia  de  la  Cerda. 

Senor  Don  Ahmuel  Centurion. 


287 

It  is  a  copy  from  the  original,  written  by  the  Most  Excellent 
A^iceroy  of  this  Kingdom    to  the  Commander  General  of  Ori- 
noco and  Guayana,  to  which  I  refer. 
City  of  Guayana,  November  11th,  1773. 

Franx'Isco  de  Amantegui, 

Secretary — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


[Copy.'] 

The  Mo.st  Excellent  Viceroy  has  been  informed  by  the  letter 
of  your  Honor  of  the  thirtieth  of  last  November  and  the 
copy  of  instructions  accompanying  the  same,  for  the  direction 
of  the  expedition  under  the  command  of  the  Lieutenant  of 
Artillery,  Don  Nicolas  Martinez,  of  the  departure  of  the  same 
with  the  })urpose  of  taking  possession  of  the  El  Dorado  moun- 
tain, and  that  your  Honor  did  everything  possible,  notwith- 
standing the  want  of  sup{)lies  for  this  and  other  enterprises 
requiring  them,  so  as  not  to  miss  the  opp)ortunity  presented 
by  the  concurrence  of  the  Indian  Captain  of  the  Parime  lake 
to  accompany  and  lead  said  expedition  placing  His  Majesty  in 
})ussession  of  said  mountain. 

Your  measures  have  met  with  the  superior  approbation  of 
His  Excellency,  and  he  commands  me  to  inform  your  Honor 
of  the  circumstance,  adding  at  the  same  time  that  while 
acknowledging  the  importance  of  similar  acquisitions  it  is 
very  painful  to  him  to  find  himself  unable  to  contribute,  on  his 
part,  as  he  would  willingly  do,  with  his  share  for  the  success  of 
such  vast  ideas  for  the  love  of  the  King,  relying  on  your  noto- 
rious zeal.  This  Kingdom  has  no  funds,  and  it  is  in  poor  con- 
dition so  as  to  be  unable  tn  meet  the  ordinaiy  exigencies  of 
tlie  service,  and  may  be  weakened  in  taking  up  the  Royal 
orders  for  extraordinary  expenses,  bringing  about  the  actual 
pressure  in  which  the  Treasury  is  ibund  at  present  to  the  ex- 
tent of  not  meeting  the  payment  of  the  salary  of  his  Excel- 
lency, who  has  not  received  one  single  real  since  July  of  last 
year.  Governors  and  Ministers  have  Ijeen  instructed  to  reduce 
their  salaries,  besides  other  economical  measures  dictated  as  a 
remedv  for  so  serious  an  evil. 


288 

Uu<ler  these  circumstances,  an<l  well  awai-c  of  tlioso  sur- 
ri)Uii(liiiti:  your  Honor,  his  I'^xcelk'iicy  cxpi'cts  you  not  to  feel 
discouraged  and  contrive  the  be>t  means  to  continue  those 
conquests,  until  his  Excellency  may  laeilitate  the  means  that 
he  contemplates  to  raise  funds  for  the  same  }>urpose.  Your 
Honor  aims  at  tlie  same  object  with  an  ardent  zeal  tiaily 
worthy,  in  justice,  of  the  acknowledgment  and  kindness  of  the 
King.  His  Excellency  will  contribute  to  the  same,  fully  satis- 
fied of  the  wisdom  of  the  operations  of  your  Honor,  whose  life 
may  the  Lord  j)reserve  for  many  years. 

Santa  Ee,  June  11th,  177o. 

Pediio  I'reta. 

Senor  Don  flannel  (Jt  nturion. 


It  is  a  coi)y  from  the  original  in  tlie  Archives  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Conimamler  General  of  (Jrinoco  and  (xuayana,  of 
whicli   T   certify,  in  (luayana,  on  the  11th  of  Xovcmhcr.  1773. 

Eraxcisco  I)E  Amaxtegui, 

Secretary,  [here  is  a  flourish.] 


The  above  cojiies  agree  with  the  original  documents  exist- 
in  the  General  Archives  of  the  Indies  in  Stand  131 — Case  2 — 
Docket  18.     Seville,  Eebruary  20th,  1S91. 

Tlie  Chief  of  Arcliives. 

Carlos  Jimenez  Pl.acer — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

[seal.] — General  Archives  of  the  Indies. 


The  undersigned.  Consul  General  of  Venezuela  in  Spain, 
certifies  to  the  authenticity  of  the  signature  of  Don  Carlos 
Jimenez  Placer,  Chief  of  the  General  Archives  of  the  Indies.. 

Madrid,  March  5th,  1891. 

P.  EoRTOULT  Hurt  A  DO. 


289 

The  undersigned,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  of  the  United 
States  of  Venezuela,  certifies  to  the  autlientieity  of  tlie  signa- 
ture of  Seiior  Pedro  Fortoult  Ilurtado,  Consul  General  of  Vene- 
zuela in  Spain  at  the  })receding  date. 

Caraeas,  March  Gth,  1896. 

P.    EZEQUIEL    E,6jAS. 

[seal.] — Ministry  of  Foreign  Afiiiirs. 

Vol.   II,  Ven. — ICi 


200 
No,  XV. 

Stiinil    K!I. — Case  V. — Docki-i    17. 
(JeNKHAI.    AltClllVKS    OF   TIIK     Imiie.s.  —  (Sevim.k. 


1774—1785. 


Answers  <)ftlic  Attoriu^y  lV»r  the  C'oun<*iI  4»ii  tin'  prof«'e<linj;s 
ill  regaiMl  to  tlu'  claiiii  oV  the  i>I  iiiist<'r  ol'  llollainl,  alioiit 
the  conduct  of  the  Spaniards  of  Orinoco  against  the 
Cohniy  ol"Es<niivo,and  resolutions  ofthe  Council. —Year 
17  74  an<l  17 85. 


Tins  docuiiK'iit  forms  a  part  of  the  proceedings  instituted, 
on  account  of  tlie  claim  of  the  Minister  of  Holland,  complain- 
ing of  the  conduct  of  the  Spaniards  of  Orinoco  against  the 
Colony  of  Esquivo. 


New  Sjxiin — Letter  0 — Folio  7 — Decided — C  a  maud — 1st — For 
the  C')>incil — No.  22 — Proceedhujs  instituted  t/i/  the  Minister 
of  Ilolland  aspiring  to  have  better  rights  and  domain  on  the 
Colony  of  Esqitivo,  and  fisheries  in  that  part  of  the  Rio  Negro, 
and  stating  that  he  is  distarhed  and  prevented  unjustly  by  tlie 
vassals  of  His  Majesty. 

The  Attorney  in  his  answer  herein  enclosed  of  the  (3th  of 
the  present  month  of  iVugust,  requests  to  sul)mit  the  whole 
case  to  a  lielator  of  the  choice  of  the  Council,  so  as  to  take 
notes  of  every  particular  and  make  an  abstract  of  all  the  ante- 
cedents, up  to  the  present  day,  and  re})ort  the  same  for  the 
I)roi)er  future  action. 

NoTio. — Answer  of  the  Attorney — the  [)roceedings  being 
very  volunnnous  remain  in  the  Secretary's  Office. 


201 


Answer  of  the  Attorne}^  dated  on  the  17th  of  October  of 
the  present  year,  in  which  he  requests  tliat,  in  order  to  close 
the  proceedings  instituted,  on  account  of  the  despatch  of  the 
Aml)assador  of  Holland,  alleging  the  right  of  fishing  on  tlie 
Orinoco  river  (His  Majesty  having  decided  to  be  consulted  on 
the  subject),  he  misses  several  documents  and  suggests  to  try 
to  find  them  in  the  Secretary's  Office  of  New  Spain,  or  else  in 
that  of  the  way  of  reserved  matter. 

Note. — Having  tried  to  find  in  the  above  Secretary's  Office 
of  New  Spain,  the  pa})ers  mentioned  by  the  Attorney  in  his 
answer,  it  was  found  only  what  corresponds  to  the  visit  of  the 
Province  of  Cumana  by  the  Governor  of  the  same,  Don  Joseph 
Diguja,  in  the  year  1761,  except  the  accompanying  map,  found 
at  the  office  of  the  Council,  in  virtue  of  its  resolution. 

Council  of  the  25tli  of  October,  1769.  Let  the  Attorney  be 
consulted — [liere  is  a  flourish].     Done. 


The  Attorney,  in  regard  to  the  proceedings  instituted  at  the 
request  of  the  Minister  of  Holland,  assuming  to  have  a  right  and 
domain  in  the  Colony  of  Esquivo  and  that  of  fishing  in  that 
part  of  the  Orinoco  river,  and  that  lie  is  disturbed  unjustly  by 
the  vassals  of  His  Majesty,  recalls  that,  in  order  to  carry  out 
the  directions  on  this  matter  by  the  Royal  order  of  the  10th  of 
September  of  1769,  asked  that  by  means  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Universal  Department  of  the  Indies,  as  well  as  by  that  of  the 
Council,  all  documents  and  antecedents  that  might  serve, 
alluding  to  the  matter,  be  aggregated  and  united. 

It  was  so  eff'ected,  with  the  transmission  of  a  great  many 
papers,  letters,  and  documents,  and  the  Attorney  having  un- 
dertaken to  examine  them  all,  finds  that  they  are  a  very  ex- 
tensive matter  that  might  consume  uselessly  a  great  deal  of 
the  time  that  he  needs  for  the  many  important  affairs  of  his 
office.  And  therefore  he  was  of  the  opinion  that,  in  order  to 
avoid  this  inconvenience  and  to  secure  the  greatest  punctuality, 
the  whole  proceedings  should  be  submitted  to  a  Relator 'of  the 
selection  of  the  Council  to  take  circumstantial   notes  and  an 


292 

abstract  of  ovorv(liiu.i2,-  and  all  the  nntccedents  of  llie  ease  up  to 
tlie  ])r(>sent  iliiy,  and  tliat  object  being  accomplished  to  refer  the 
saiiie  bark  to  the  Attorney,  in  order  to  be  enabled  to  report 
what  may  be  ])roper  for  the  Royal  information  of  His  Majesty. 
Madrid,  August  Gth,  177-1 — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

Council  of  the  1st  of  ()ctul)er,  1774 — First  Chamber — As  re- 
quested by  the  Attorney — [liere  is  a  flourisli] — To  the  Rehitor 
Licentiate  Canet — [here  is  a  flourish]. 


Repori  of  ilic  Ailornri/. 

The  attorney  has  examincMl  the  proceedings  instituted  b}' 
this  superior  authority,  on  account  of  a  certain  memorial  pre- 
sented to  His  Majesty  by  the  Minister  of  Holland,  com{)laining 
of  the  conduct  of  the  Spaniards  established  in  Orinoco  against 
the  Dutch  colony  of  Esquivo.  It  was  forwarded,  through  the 
reservcnl  way,  witli  the  Royal  order  of  September  10,  T7()0,  so 
as  to  be  examined  by  the  Council,  as  soon  as  {)ossil)le,  and 
consult  His  Majesty  in  regard  to  the  extension  of  those  bound- 
aries, and  the  riglit  alleged  by  the  Republic  for  fisliing  at  the 
entry  of  the  Orinoco  river;  to  tliis  memorial  it  w^as  added  by 
way  of  antecedent,  another  j^roceedings  instituted  and  already 
consulted  with  His  Majesty  on  tlie  9th  of  May  of  the  year  of 
1708,  in  consequence  of  a  despatch  of  the  Government  of 
Enghuid,  in  relation  to  the  restitution  of  the  negroes,  who 
from  tlieir  islands  come  over  to  ours  in  America,  and  after  the 
accumulation  of  several  representations,  justifying  testimonies 
IVom  the  ( Jovernors  of  Cumana,  Guayana,  and  others  that  were 
addressed  through  the  reserved  way,  in  virtue  of  a  consulta- 
tion made  by  the  Council  on  the  27tli  of  October  of  said  year 
of  17<')9.  In  that  state,  and  according  to  the  advice  of  the  at- 
torney, it  was  decided,  on  the  Oth  of  August,  1774,  that  every- 
thing should  be  submitted  to  a  Relator  in  order  to  form  a 
circum.stantial  abstract,  as  it  has  been  done. 

Under  this  understanding  it  is  observed  by  the  exponent 
that  to-day  no  resolution  is  required  or  any  further  stej)  taken 
after  the   long  lapso  of  over  fifteen  years,  without  any  fiu'ther 


293 

mention  of  the  subject  by  tlie  Minister  of  Holland,  leading-  to 
the  belief  that,  after  having  been  better  informed,  the  Republic 
realizes  the  want  of  justice  for  the  claim  made  and  has  already 
desisted. 


It  is  trui'  that  the  unitt'tl  pa})ers  with  tlie  above-mentioned 
memorial,  and  particularly  the  representation  of  the  (Jovernor 
of  Guayana,  Don  Manuel  Centurion,  not  only  show  the  want 
of  foundation  for  the  complaint  of  the  vassals  of  Holland,  but 
likewise  that  it  should  be  very  desirable  to  increase.,  on  our 
part,  the  precautions  that  he  contemplated  in  those  countries, 
as  very  important  to  the  State;  but  as  there  is  already  such  a 
long  time  past,  circumstances  must  have  changed,  and  we  can 
not  enter  in  the  examination  of  the  same,  without  more  reason 
and  new  reports  of  the  present  situation  of  things  in  those 
countries. 

Messieurs  Casafonda — ArccJic — Huevta. 

Takino;  all  thino-s  into  consideration,  it  seems  tliat  what  we 
must  do  now"  is,  to  await  the  suggestive  development  of  cir- 
cumstances, showing  the  course  to  be  adopted  ;  in  that  case  the 
Attorney  should  be  consulted  to  report  what  he  may  find 
proper.     The  Council  may  agree  and  adopt  this  report. 

Madrid,  May  the  27th,  1785 — [here  is  a  flourish].  Council 
of  June  the  4th,  1785 — Chamber  1st. — As  reported  by  the 
Attorney — [here  is  a  fiourisli]. 


This  copy  agrees  with  the  original  document,  existing  in  the 
General  Archives  of  the  Indies,  in  the  Stand  131 — Case  7 — 
Docket  17— Seville,  the  9th  of  December,  1890. 

The  Chief  of  the  Archives. 

Carlos  Jimenez  Placer — [here  is  a  flourish]. 

[skat..] — (leneral  Archives  of  the  Indies. 


294 

The  undcrsiniu'il.  Consul  (Jeiicial  oi"  Venezuela  in  Spain, 
certifies  to  the  authenticity  of  the  signature  of  Don  Carlos 
Jimenez  Placer,  Chief  of  the  General  Archives  of  the   indies. 

Ahulrid,  Dcceniher  the  24th,  LSDO. 

P.    FoKTol   LT     irrUTADO. 


The  undersigned,  Minister  of  Foreign  Aliairs  of  the  United 
States  of  Venezuela,  certifiers  to  the  authenticity  of  the  signa- 
ture of  Sefior  I'edro  l^'ortoult  II urtado,  Consul  (Jeneral  of  \'en- 
ezuela  in  Spain  at  the  prece(ling  date. 

Caracas,  March  ()th,  ISiJG. 

P.    EzK(iUIKL    ROJAS. 

[sKAL.] — Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs. 


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